v»    i  ->/  i       -> 

W 


.4 


EZZZJ 


YELASQUEZ   IJV  FEMALE 


THE  WOMAN  IN  BATTLE: 


A  NARRATIVE   OF  THE 


OF 

MADAME  LORETA  JANETA  V|LAZQUEZ, 

OTHERWISE    KNOWN    AS 

LIEUTENANT    HARRY    T.    BUFORD, 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  ARMY. 

IN   WHICH   IS   GIVEN 

Full  Descriptions  of  the  numerous  Battles  in  which  she  participated  as  a  Confederate 

Officer;   of  her  Perilous  Performances  as  a  Spy,  as  a  Bearer  of  Despatches,  as 

a  Secret-Service  Agent,  and   as  a   Blockade-  Runner;    of  her  Adventures 

Behind  the  Scenes  at  Washington,  including  the  Bond  Swindle; 

of  her  Career  as  a  Bounty  and  Substitute  Broker  in  New  York  ; 

of  herTravels  in  Europe  and  South  America;   her  Mining 

Adventures  on  the  Pacific  Slope  ;   her  Residence 

among  the   Mormons;   her  Love   Affairs, 

Courtships,  Marriages,  &.C.,  &.c. 

,       EDITED  BY 

C.    J.    WORTHINGTON, 

LATE   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES   NAVY. 


Command  the  trumpets  of  the  war  to  sound  ! 
This  stillness  doth  perplex  and  harass  me ; 
An  inward  impulse  drives  me  from  repose, 
It  still  impels  me  to  achieve  my  work. 

SCHILLER  —  The  Maid  of  Orleans. 


PROFUSELY   ILLUSTRATED 
HARTFORD  : 


1876. 


V/t3 
x 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876, 

BY  LOKETA  J.  VELAZQUEZ, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED. 


ELECTROTYPED  AT  THE  BOSTON  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDRY, 
No.  19  Spring  L&ne. 


TO  MY 


WHO,    ALTHOUGH    THEY   FOUGHT    IN    A    LOSING    CAUSE, 

SUCCEEDED    BY    THEIR   VALOR    IN    WINNING 

THE   ADMIRATION   OF  THE   WORLD, 

THIS  NARRATIVE 

OF  MY  ADVENTURES  AS  A  SOLDIER,  A  SPY, 
AND  A  SECRET- SERVICE  AGENT, 

g*  i*4fart*4, 

WITH    ALL    HONOR,   RESPECT,   AND    GOOD    WILL. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


IF  I  expected  by  this  story  of  my  adventures  to  achieve 
any  literary  reputation,  I  might  be  disposed,  on  account  of  its 
many  faults  of  style,  to  ask  the  indulgence  of  those  who  will 
do  me  the  honor  to  undertake  its  perusal.  As,  however, 
I  only  attempted  authorship  because  I  had,  as  others  assured 
me,  and  as  I  myself  believed,  something  to  tell  that  was  worth 
telling,  I  have  been  more  concerned  about  the  matter  than 
the  manner  of  my  book,  and  I  hope  that  the  narrative  will  prove 
of  sufficient  interest  to  compensate  for  a  lack  of  literary  ele 
gance  in  the  setting  forth.  Mine  has  been  a  life  too  busily 
occupied  in  other  matters  for  me  to  cultivate  the  graces 
of  authorship ;  and  the  best  I  can  hope  to  do  is  to  relate  my 
story  with  simplicity  and  truth,  and  then  let  it  find  its  fate, 
whether  it  be  praise  or  condemnation. 

The  composition  of  this  book  has  been  a  labor  of  love,  and 
yet  one  of  no  ordinary  difficulties.  The  loss  of  my  notes  has 
compelled  me  to  rely  entirely  upon  my  memory  ;  and  memory 
is  apt  to  be  very  treacherous,  especially  when,  after  a  number 
of  years,  one  endeavors  to  relate  in  their  proper  sequence  a 
long  series  of  complicated  transactions.  Besides,  I  have  been 
compelled  to  write  hurriedly,  and  in  the  intervals  of  pressing 
business,  the  necessities  I  have  been  under  of  earning  my  daily 
bread  being  such  as  could  not  be  disregarded,  even  for  the 
purpose  of  winning  the  laurels  of  authorship.  To  speak 
plainly,  however,  I  care  little  for  laurels  of  any  kind  just  now, 
and  am  much  more  anxious  for  the  money  that  I  hope  this 
book  will  bring  in  to  me  than  I  am  for  the  praises  of  either 

5 


6  AUTHOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 

critics  or  public.  The  money  I  want  badly,  while  praise, 
although  it  will  not  be  ungratifying,  I  am  sufficiently  philo 
sophical  to  get  along  very  comfortably  without. 

I  do  not  know  what  the  good  people  who  will  read  this 
book  will  think  of  me.  My  career  has  differed  materially 
from  that  of  most  women ;  and  some  things  that  I  have  done 
have  shocked  persons  for  whom  I  have  every  respect,  however 
much  my  ideas  of  propriety  may  differ  from  theirs.  I  can  only 
say,  however,  that  in  my  opinion  there  was  nothing  essentially 
improper  in  my  putting  on  the  uniform  of  a  Confederate  officer 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  an  active  part  in  the  war  ;  and,  as 
when  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  camp,  and  during  long  and 
toilsome  marches,  I  endeavored,  not  without  success,  to  display 
a  courage  and  fortitude  not  inferior  to  the  most  courageous  of 
the  men  around  me,  and  as  I  never  did  aught  to  disgrace  the 
uniform  I  wore,  but,  on  the  contrary,  won  the  hearty  com 
mendation  of  my  comrades,  I  feel  that  I  have  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of.  Had  I  believed  that  my  book  needed  any  apolo 
gies  on  this  score,  it  would  never  have  been  written ;  and, 
having  written  it,  I  am  willing  to  submit  my  conduct  to  the 
judgment  of  the  public,  with  a  confidence  that  I  will  at  least 
receive  due  credit  for  the  motives  by  which  I  was  animated. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book  for  the  press,  I  have  been 
greatly  aided  by  the  gentleman  who  has  consented  to  act  as 
my  editor.  Although  during  the  war  he  was  on  the  other  side, 
he  has  interested  himself  most  heartily  in  assisting  me  to  get 
my  narrative  into  the  best  shape  for  presentation  to  the 
public,  and  has  shown  a  remarkable  skill  in  detecting  and 
correcting  errors  into  which  I  had  inadvertently  fallen.  I  take 
pleasure  in  acknowledging  my  indebtedness  to  him. 

The  book,  such  as  it  is,  —  and  I  have  tried  to  make  it  all 
that  such  a  book  should  be  by  telling  my  story  in  as  plain, 
straightforward,  and  unpretending  a  style  as  I  could  com 
mand,  —  is  now,  for  good  or  ill,  out  of  my  hands,  and  my 
adopted  country  people  will  have  to  decide  for  themselves 
whether  the  writing  of  it  was  worth  the  while  or  not. 


EDITOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 


THE  frank  egotism  of  such  a  narrative  as  is  contained  in  the 
volume  now  in  the  hands  of  the  reader  needs  no  apology. 
Self-reliance,  self-esteem,  and  self-approbation,  all  were  neces 
sary  for  the  consummation  of  such  adventures  as  those  herein 
related  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  editor,  a  chief  merit  in  the 
book  is  the  perfect  unreserve  with  which  its  author  gives  to 
the  world,  not  only  the  full  particulars  of  her  numerous 
daring  exploits  and  adventures,  but  the  motives  by  which  she 
was  influenced  in  undertaking  them,  and  her  impressions  of 
men  and  events.  Since  the  author  has  not  seen  fit  to  do  so, 
the  editor  does  not  feel  called  upon  to  argue  the  question  of 
propriety  involved  in  the  appearance  of  a  woman  disguised 
in  male  attire  on  the  battle-field  ;  but,  with  regard  to  some  of 
the  transactions  in  which  Madame  Yelazquez  was  engaged 
during  the  progress-  of  the  great  civil  war,  a  few  words  of 
comment,  explanatory  rather  than  apologetic,  seem  to  be  re 
quired. 

Some  of  these  transactions  were  of  a  character  that,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  would  admit  of  no  extenuation ;  but,  in 
making  up  a  judgment  concerning  them,  several  important 
facts  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind.  One  of  them  is,  that 
Madame  Yelazquez  was  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  only  gov 
ernment  to  which  she  acknowledged  allegiance,  and  that  she 
considered  herself  as  justified  in  aiding  that  government  by 
every  means  in  her  power,  as  well  by  fighting  its  enemies  in 
the  field,  as  by  embarrassing  them  by  such  attacks  in  the  rear 
as  are  related  in  her  narrative.  This  plea  will,  of  course,  be 

7 


8  EDITOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 

worth  nothing  to  those  who  refuse  to  admit  that. for  any  pur 
poses  the  Confederacy  had  a  right  to  exist.  It  is  necessary, 
however,  to  view  matters  of  this  kind  from  a  different  stand 
point  from  this.  The  fact  that  the  Federal  Government  was 
compelled  to  recognize  the  Confederates  as  belligerents,  and 
was  compelled  to  hold  official  intercourse  with  them,  renders 
argument  on  this  head  unnecessary.  Admitting  that  they 
were  belligerents,  they  were  justified,  within  certain  limitations^ 
in  doing  all  in  their  power  to  defeat  their  enemies,  not  only  by 
opposing  them  with  armies  in  the  field,  but  by  demoralizing 
them  by  insidious  attacks  in  the  rear,  and  by  hampering  their 
efforts  to  keep  their  ranks  full,  and  to  provide  the  ways  and 
means  for  maintaining  the  armies  at  the  highest  state  of 
efficiency.  Whatever  view  non-combatants  might  have  taken 
of  the  war,  the  men  who  did  the  fighting  were  obliged  to  con 
sider  it,  in  a  great  measure,  as  a  trial  of  skill  and  valor,  and 
practically  to  disregard  sentimental  or  political  considerations. 
Prom  a  military  point  of  view,  therefore,  what,  was  proper  and 
justifiable  for  one  side,  was  proper  and  justifiable  for  the 
other,  and  will  so  be  considered  by  impartial  critics. 

These  remarks  have  particular  reference  to  the  portions 
of  this  narrative  which  relate  the  experiences  of  Madame 
Yelazquez  as  a  Confederate  secret-service  agent  at  the  North 
during  the  last  eighteen  or  twenty  months  of  the  war.  It  will 
be  noticed  that  she  speaks  with  undisguised  contempt  of  some 
of  her  associates  within  the  Federal  lines,  —  associates  without 
whose  aid  she  could  never  have  accomplished  the  work  she 
undertook.  The  unprejudiced  reader,  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  understanding  that  their  position  and  hers  were  vastly 
different.  Some  of  these  people  were  trusted  officers  of  the 
government,  were  sworn  to  loyalty  and  fidelity,  and  were  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  full  confidence  of  the  public,  as  well  as 
of  their  immediate  superiors.  Others  were  men  who  were 
loud  in  their  protestations  of  loyalty,  but  who,  while  eager  to 
be  recognized  as  stanch  supporters  of  the  Federal  govern 
ment,  were,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  secretly  engaged  in  aiding 


EDITOR'S   PREFATORY   NOTICE.  9 

the  enemy  by  every  means  in  their  power.  These  people, 
and  the  shrewd,  sharp  woman  who  made  use  of  them  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  work  she  undertook  to  perform  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  the  government  to  which  she  had  given  her 
allegiance  in  carrying  on  a  gigantic  contest,  are  surely  not  to 
be  judged  by  the  same  standard  ]  and  that  Madame  Velazquez 
does  not  hesitate  to  relate  the  details  of  her  transactions  as  a 
Confederate  agent  and  spy,  proves  that  she,  at  least,  does  not 
consider  that  she  has  done  anything  to  be  ashamed  of,  and  is 
willing  that  her  conduct  shall  be  freely  criticised. 

To  many  readers,  the  story  of  Madame  Velazquez's  expe 
riences  in  camp  and  on  the  battle-field  while  disguised  as  a 
Confederate  officer,  will,  from  the  peculiarities  of  her  position, 
have  a  particular  interest.  In  the  opinion  of  the  editor,  how 
ever,  the  most  important  part  of  the  book  is  that  in  which  a 
revelation  is  made,  now  for  the  first  time,  of  the  exact  manner 
in  which  the  Confederate  secret-service  system  at  the  North 
was  managed.  There  is  no  feature  of  the  civil  war  that  more 
needs  to  have  light  thrown  on  it  than  this ;  and,  as  the  story 
which  the  heroine  of  the  adventures  herein  set  down  recites, 
is  an  exceedingly  curious  one,  it  is  deserving  of  the  special 
consideration  of  the  public,  both  North  and  South. 

The  editor  of  this  volume  was  in  the  United  States  naval 
service  from  near  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  civil  war ; 
and  as  he  gave  his  adhesion  to  the  Union  cause  from  princi 
ple  rather  than  passion,  and  as  he  has  never,  either  during  the 
war  or  since  its  close,  had  other  than  the  kindest  feelings 
towards  those  who  took  the  other  side,  under  a  sincere  con 
viction  that  they  were  right,  he  not  only  had  had  no  hesitation 
in  preparing  the  narrative  of  Madame  Velazquez  for  the  press, 
but  he  feels  that  he  can  appreciate  the  motives  which,  from 
first  to  last,  seem  to  have  actuated  her.  The  Southern  people 
made  a  great  mistake  when  they  inaugurated  the  war ;  but  it 
does  not  become  those  who  fought  in  the  Federal  ranks  to 
doubt,  at  this  late  day,  the  sincerity  or  honesty  of  purpose  of 
the  vast  majority  of  them. 


10  EDITOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 

The  great  American  civil  war  was  an  event  that  deserves 
to  be  judged  dispassionately ;  and  to  judge  it  dispassionately, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  people  of  both  sections  should  under 
stand  each  other  better  than  they  did  while  the  conflict  was 
being  waged,  or,  indeed,  than  they  do  now.  It  is  especially 
important  that  the  people  of  the  North,  being  the  victors,  and 
being  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  the  present  and 
future  good  government  of  the  South,  and  for  a  proper  appre 
ciation  there  of  the  advantages  of  a  cordial  and  fraternal,  as 
well  as  a  political  union,  should  study  the  war  from  a  South 
ern  point  of  view.  The  present  volume,  the  editor  believes, 
is  not  only  a  most  interesting  narrative  of  adventure  of  a  very 
exceptional  kind,  but  it  is  an  important  and  valuable  contribu 
tion  to  the  history  of  the  war. 

Madame  Velazquez,  whose  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of 
Southern  independence  induced  her  to  discard  the  garments 
of  her  sex,  and  to  assume  male  attire  for  the  purpose  of 
appearing  upon  the  battle-field,  is  a  typical  Southern  woman 
of  the  war  period ;  and  there  are  thousands  of  officers  and  sol 
diers  who  fought  in  the  Confederate  armies  who  can  bear  tes 
timony,  not  only  to  the  valor  she  displayed  in  battle,  and  under 
many  circumstances  of  difficulty  and  danger,  but  to  her 
integrity,  her  energy,  her  ability,  and  her  unblemished  repu 
tation.  Upon  these  points,  however,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
dilate  ;  her  story  will  speak  for  itself,  and  that  it  is  a  true 
story  in  every  particular,  there  are  abundant  witnesses  whose 
testimony  will  not  be  disputed. 

As  Madame  Velazquez  is  a  typical  Southern  woman  of  the 
war  period,  so  her  story  furnishes  a  curious  inside  view  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  it  throws  much  light  on  a  great  number  of 
obscure  points  in  its  history.  For  this  reason,  if  no  other,  it 
will  deserve  the  attention  of  Northern  readers,  who  will  find 
many  things  stated  in  it  which  it  is  well  for  them  to  know.  No 
commendation  of  any  kind  is  needed  to  command  for  it  the 
consideration  of  the  people  of  the  South.  From  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  to  its  close,  the  Confederate  cause  had  no  more 


EDITOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE.  11 

enthusiastic  or  zealous  supporter  than  the  woman  who  was 
known  as  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford.  According  to  her 
opportunities,  she  labored  with  unsurpassed  zeal  and  efficiency, 
and  with  a  disinterestedness  that  cannot  but  be  admired. 

With  regard  to  the  part  performed  by  the  editor  in  pre 
paring  this  work  for  the  press,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  a  few 
words.  The  manuscript,  when  it  was  placed  in  his  hands, 
was  found  to  be  very  minute  and  particular  in  some  places, 
and  rather  meagre  in  others,  where  particularity  seemed 
desirable.  Having  undertaken  to  get  this  material  into 
proper  shape,  correspondence  was  opened  with  Madame  Velaz 
quez,  and  a  number  of  interviews  with  her  were  had.  A 
general  plan  having  been  agreed  upon,  it  was  left  entirely  to 
the  judgment  of  the  editor  what  to  omit  or  what  to  insert, 
—  Madame  Yelazquez  agreeing  to  supply  such  information  as 
was  needed  to  make  the  story  complete,  in  a  style  suitable 
for  publication.  From  her  correspondence,  and  from  notes  of 
her  conversations,  a  variety  of  very  interesting  details,  not  in 
the  original  manuscript,  were  obtained  and  incorporated  in  the 
narrative.  The  editor,  also,  in  several  places  has  corrected 
palpable  errors  of  time  and  place,  and  has  added  a  few  facts 
not  supplied  by  the  author.  These  corrections  and  additions 
have  been^  made  after  consultation  with  the  author,  and  with 
her  entire  approbation.  In  preparing  her  manuscript,  Madame 
Yelazquez  seems  to  have  endeavored  to  narrate  the  incidents 
of  her  career  in  the  fullest  manner  possible  j  and  it  conse 
quently  contains  a  large  amount  of  matter  which  can  be  of  but 
very  little,  if  any,  interest  to  the  general  public.  It  has  been 
necessary,  therefore,  while  expanding  in  some  places,  to  make 
large  excisions  in  others ;  but  the  story  is  such  an  extraor 
dinary  one,  in  many  of  its  aspects,  that  it  has  been  judged 
better  to  give  it  in  too  great  fulness,  rather  than  to  omit  what 
the  purchasers  of  the  book  would  have  a  right  to  find  in  it. 
The  excisions  have,  therefore,  been  carefully  made,  and  it  is 
believed  that  nothing  has  been  omitted  that  is  of  value  or 
importance.  A  few  expressions  that  might  needlessly  give 


12  EDITOR'S  PREFATORY  NOTICE. 

offence,  have  either  been  stricken  out  or  altered,  while  some, 
which  persons  of  severe  taste  may  object  to,  have  been  permitted 
to  remain  as  they  were  originally  written,  they  being  in  some 
way  characteristic  of  the  writer,  or  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  she  was  placed.  While  Madame  Yelazquez  does  not 
pretend  to  any  literary  accomplishments,  her  style  has  a  cer 
tain  flavor  which  is  far  from  unpleasant ;  and  the  editor  has 
been  careful,  in  making  such  changes  and  alterations  as  have 
seemed  necessary,  to  retain  the  author's  own  words  wherever 
practicable. 

Owing  to  the  loss  of  her  diary,  Madame  Velazquez  was  com 
pelled  to  write  her  narrative  entirely  from  memory,  which 
will  account  for  the  errors  to  which  allusion  has  been  made. 
Indeed,  considering  the  multiplicity  of  events,  it  is  very 
remarkable  that  she  has  been  able  to  relate  her  story  with 
any  degree  of  accuracy.  It  is  possible  that,  despite  the  pains 
that  have  been  taken  to  make  the  narrative  exact  in  every 
particular  with  regard  to  its  facts,  a  few  errors  may  have  been 
permitted  to  remain  uncorrected.  These  errors,  however,  are 
not  material,  and  do  not  in  any  way  impair  the  interest  of 
the  story. 

Madame  Yelazquez  is  a  very  remarkable  woman,  and  some 
account  of  her  personal  appearance,  other  than  can  be  obtained 
from  the  portraits  of  her  which  are  given  in  this  book,  will 
doubtless  be  appreciated  by  the  reader.  She  is  rather  slen 
der,  something  above  medium  height,  has  more  than  the 
average  of  good  looks,  is  quick  and  energetic  in  her  move 
ments,  and  is  very  vivacious  in  conversation.  Her  frame  is 
firmly  knit,  and  she  is  evidently  endowed  with  great  powers 
of  physical  endurance.  Those  who  have  seen  her  in  male 
attire  say  that  her  skill  in  disguising  herself  was  very  great, 
and  that  she  readily  passed  for  a  man.  At  the  same  time  she 
is  anything  but  masculine,  either  in  appearance,  manners,  or 
address.  She  is  a  shrewd,  enterprising,  and  energetic  busi 
ness  woman,  and  in  society  is  a  brilliant  and  most  enter 
taining  conversationalist,  abounding  in  a  fund  of  racy  anec- 


EDITOR'S   PREFATORY  NOTICE.  13 

dotes,  and  endowed  with  a  mimetic  power  that  enables 
her  to  relate  her  anecdotes  in  the  most  telling  manner. 
In  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  other  Northern  cities,  as 
well  as  throughout  the  South  and  West,  she  has  a  large  num 
ber  of  very  warm  friends,  who  hold  her  in  the  highest  esteem 
on  account  of  her  eminent  talents,  her  fascinating  social  qual 
ities,  and  her  unblemished  reputation.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  publication  of  the  story  of  her  checkered  career  will  have 
the  effect  of  increasing,  rather  than  of  diminishing,  the  number 
of  these  friends.  Her  story  is  a  most  remarkable  one,  in 
nearly  every  respect.  During  the  war  a  number  of  women, 
on  both  sides,  from  time  to  time,  performed  spy  duty,  and 
several  of  them  are  said  to  have  occasionally  assumed  male 
attire.  Madame  Velazquez,  however,  it  is  believed,  is  the  only 
one  of  her  sex,  who,  for  any  length  of  time,  wore  a  masculine 
garb,  or  who  participated  as  a  combatant  in  a  series  of  hard- 
fought  battles.  Narratives  of  the  adventures  of  several  hero 
ines  on  the  Federal  side  have  been  published,  but  none  of 
them  will  at  all  compare  in  extent  and  variety  of  interest  with 
the  volume  now  before  the  reader,  which  has  an  additional 
claim  on  the  regards  of  the  public  as  being  the  only  authentic 
account  of  the  career  of  a  Confederate  heroine  that  has  issued 
from  the  press. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

CHILDHOOD. 

The  Woman  in  Battle.  —  Heroines  of  History.  — Joan  of  Arc.  — A  Desire 
to  emulate  Her.  —  The  Opportunity  that  was  Offered.  —  Breaking  out  of 
the  War  between  the  North  and  the  South.  —  Determination  to  take 
Part  in  the  Contest.  —  A  noble  Ancestry.  —  The  Velazquez  Family.  — 
My  Birth  at  Havana.  —  Removal  of  my  Family  to  Mexico.  —  The  War 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  —  Loss  of  my  Father's  Estates. 
—  Return  of  the  Family  to  Cuba.  —  My  early  Education.  —  At  School  in 
New  Orleans.  —  Castles  in  the  Air.  —  Romantic  Aspirations.  —  Trying 
to  be  a  Man.  —  Midnight  Promenades  before  the  Mirror  in  Male  At 
tire 33 

CHAPTER    II. 
MARRIAGE. 

My  Betrothal.  —  Love  Matches  and  Marriages  of  Convenience.  —  Some 
new  Ideas  picked  up  from  my  Schoolmates.  —  A  new  Lover  appears 
upon  the  Field.  —  I  Figure  as  a  Rival  to  a  Friend.  —  Love's  Young 
Dream.  — A  new  Way  of  Popping  the  Question.  —  A  Clandestine  Mar 
riage.  —  Displeasure  of  my  Family.  —  Life  as  the  Wife  of  an  Army  Offi 
cer.  —  The  Mormon  Expedition.  —  Birth  of  my  first  Child,  and  Recon 
ciliation  with  my  Family.  —  Commencement  of  the  War  between  the 
North  and  South.  — Death  of  my  Children.  —  Resignation  of  my  Hus 
band  from  the  Army.  —  My  Determination  to  take  Part  in  the  coming 
Conflict  as  a  Soldier.  —  Opposition  of  my  Husband  to  my  Schemes.  43 

CHAPTER    III. 

ASSUMING    MALE    ATTIRE. 

A  Wedding  Anniversary.  — Preparing  for  my  Husband's  Departure  for  the 
Seat  of  War.  —  My  Desire  to  accompany  Him.  — His  Arguments  to  dis 
suade  Me. — My  First  Appearance  in  Public  in  Male  Attire.  —  A  Bar 
room  Scene.  — Drinking  Success  to  the  Confederacy.  — My  First  Cigar. 

—  A  Tour  of  the   Gambling-Houses  and  Drinking-Saloons.  —  The  un 
pleasant  Points  of  Camp  Life  set  forth  in  strong  Colors.  —  Departure  of 
my  Husband.  —  Donning  Male  Attire.  —  My  First  Suit  of  Male  Clothing. 

—  Description  of  my  Disguise. — The  Practicability  of  a  Woman  dis 
guising   herself  effectively.  —  Some  of  the   Features  of  Army  Life. — 
What  Men  think  of  Women  Soldiers 52 

15 


16  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

DISGUISED    AS  A   CONFEDERATE    OFFICER. 

Preparing  a  Military  Outfit.  —  Consultations  with  a  Friend. — Argument 
against  my  proposed  Plan  of  Action. — Assuming  the  Uniform  of  a 
Confederate  Officer.  — A  Scene  in  a  Barber's  Shop.  —  How  young  Men 
try  to  make  their  Beards  Grow. — Taking  a  social  Drink.  — A  Game  of 
Billiards.  —  In  a  Faro  Bank.  —  Some  War  Talk.  — Drinks  all  Around.  — 
The  End  of  an  exciting  Day. — Making  up  a  Complexion.  —  A  false 
Mustache.  —  Final  Preparations.  —  Letters  from  Husband  and  Father.  — 
Ready  to  start  fo^the  Seat  of  War 61 

CHAPTER    V. 

RECRUITING. 

My  Plan  of  Action.  —  On  the  War  Path.  —  In  Search  of  Recruits  in  Ar 
kansas.  —  The  Giles  Homestead. —  Sensation  caused  by  a  Soldier's  Uni 
form. —  A  prospective  Recruit.  —  Bashful  Maidens.  —  A  nice  little  Flir 
tation.  —  Learning  how  to  be  agreeable  to  the  Ladies.  —  A  Lesson  in 
Masculine  Manners. — A  terrible  Situation.  —  Causeless  Alarm.: — The 
young  Lady  becoming  Sociable. —A  few  Matrimonial  Hints. — The 
successful  Commencement  of  a  Soldier's  Career.  —  Anticipations  of 
future  Glory.  —  Dreamless  Slumbers.  .  .  .  .  .  i 70 

CHAPTER    VI. 
A  WIDOW. 

Flirtation  and  Recruiting.  —My  brilliant  Success  in  enlisting  a  Company. 

—  Embarkation  for  New  Orleans.  — Letter  from  my  Husband.  —  Change 
of  Plans.  —  Cheered  while  passing  through  Mobile.  —  Arrival  at  Pensa- 
cola.  — Astonishment  of  my  Husband.  —  Sudden  Death  of  my  Husband 
by  the  Bursting  of  a  Carbine. — Determination  to  go  to  the  Front.  —  A 
fascinating  Widow.  —  A  Lesson  in  Courtship.  —  Starting  for  the  Seat 
of  War.  —  Unpleasant  Companions.  —  A  bit  of  Flirtation  with  a  Colum 
bia  Belle.  —  In    Charge   of  a  Party  of  Ladies  and   Children   at  Lynch- 
burg.  —  Arrival  in  Richmond.  —  Another  Lady  in  Love  with  me.  — The 
Major  wants  to  make  a  Night  of  it.  —  A  quiet  Game  of  Cards.  —  Off  for 
the  Battle-field ' 82 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   BATTLE   OF  BULL   RUN. 

Joining  the  Army  in  the  Field. — Trying  to  get  a  Commission. — The 
Skirmish  at  Blackburn's  Ford.  —  Burying  the  Dead.  —  I  attach  myself  to 
General  Bee's  Command.  —  The  Night  before  the  Battle  of  Bull  Run.  — 
A  sound  Sleep.  —  The  Morning  of  the  Battle.  —  A  magnificent  Scene.  — 
The  Approach  of  the  Enemy.  —  Commencement  of  the  Fight.  —  An 
Exchange  of  Compliments  between  old  Friends.  —  Bee's  Order  to  fall 
back,  and  his  Rally.  —  "  Stonewall  "Jackson.  —The  Battle  at  its  Fiercest. 

—  The  Scene  at  Midday.  —  Huge  Clouds  of  Dust  and  Smoke.  —  Some 


CONTENTS.  17 

tough  Fighting.  —  How  Beauregard  and  Johnston  rallied  their  Men. — 
The  Contest  for  the  Possession  of  the  Plateau.  —  Bee  and  Bartow  Killed. 

—  Arrival  of  Kirby    Smith  with  Re-enforcements. — The  Victory  Won. 

—  Application  for  Promotion.  —  Return  to  Richmond, 95 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

AFTER    THE    BATTLE. 

Erroneous  Ideas  about  the  War.  —  Some  of  the  Effects  of  the  Battle  of 
Bull  Run.  —  The  Victory  not  in  all  Respects  a  Benefit  to  the  Cause  of 
the  Confederacy.  —  Undue  Elation  of  Soldiers  and  Civilians.  —  Rich 
mond  Demoralized.  —  A  Quarrel  with  a  drunken  Officer. — An  Insult 
Resented.  — I  leave  Richmond.  — Prospect  of  another  Battle.  —  Cutting 
a  Dash  in  Leesburg.  —  A  little  Love  Affair.  —  Stern  Parents.  —  A  clan 
destine  Meeting.  —  Love's  young  Dream.  —  Disappointed  Affections.  — 
In  front  of  the  Enemy  once  More.  — A  Battle  expected  to  come  off.  .  107 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BALL'S  BLUFF. 

An  Appetite  for  Fighting.  —  The  Sensations  of  the  Battle-field.  —  My  sec 
ond  Battle.  —  The  Conflict  at  Ball's  Bluff.  —  My  Arrival  at  General 
Evans's  Headquarters.  —  Meeting  an  old  Acquaintance.  —  Hospitalities 
of  the  Camp.  —  The  Morning  of  the  Battle.  —  Commencement  of  the 
Fight.  —  A  fierce  Struggle.  —  In  Charge  of  a  Company.  — A  suspicious 
Story.  — Bob  figures  as  a  Combatant.  —  Rout  of  the  Enemy.  —  The  Fed 
erals  driven  over  the  Bluff  into  the  River. — I  capture  some  Prisoners. 

—  A  heart-rending  Spectacle.  —  Escape  of  Colonel  Devens,  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Massachusetts  Regiment,  by  swimming  across  the  River.  —  Sink 
ing  of  the  Boats  with  the  wounded  Federals  in  Them.  —  Night,  and  the 
End  of  the  Battle 115 

CHAPTER    X. 

FIRST  EXPERIENCES   AS  A   SPY. 

Reaction  after  the  Excitements  of  a  Battle.  —The  Necessity  for  mental  and 
bodily  Occupation.  —  I  form  a  new  Project.  —  War  as  we  imagine  it,  and 
as  it  Is.  —  Fighting  not  the  only  Thing  to  be  Done.  —The  Dreams  of 
Youth,  and  the  Realities  of  Experience.  — The  Secret  of  Success.  —The 
Difficulties  which  the  Confederate  Commanders  experienced  in  obtain 
ing  Information  of  the  Movements  of  the  Enemy. —What  a  Woman 
can  do  that  a  Man  Cannot.  —A  Visit  to  Mrs.  Tyree.  —The  only  Way  of 
keeping  a  Secret.  —  I  assume  the  Garments  of  my  own  Sex  again  as  a 
Disguise.  —  Getting  across  the  Potomac  at  Night.  —Asleep  in  a  Wheat- 
btack.  —A  suspicious  Farmer.  —  A  Friend  in  Need.  —  Maryland  Hospi 
tality.  —  Off  for  Washington 126 

CHAPTER    XI. 

IN    WASHINGTON. 

Inside  the  Enemy's  Lines.  —Arrival  at  the  Federal  Capital.  —  ReneAvino- 
an  Acquaintance  with  an  old  Friend.  —  What  I  found  out  by  a  judicious 
2 


18  CONTENTS. 

System  of  Questioning.  — The  Federal  Plans  with  regard  to  the  Missis 
sippi.  —  An  Attack  on  New  Orleans  Surmised.  —  A  Tour  around  Wash 
ington.  —  Visit  to  the  War  Department,  and  Interview  with  Secretary 
Cameron  and  General  Wessells.  —  An  Introduction  to  the  President.  — 
Impressions  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  — I  succeed  in  finding  out  a  Thing  or  two 
at  the  Post-Office.  —  Sudden  Departure  from  Washington.  —  Return  to 
Leesburg. — Departure  for  Columbus,  Kentucky 136 

CHAPTER    XII. 

ACTING  AS  MILITARY  CONDUCTOR. 

At  Memphis  Again.  — Ending  my  first  Campaign.  —  My  Friend  the  Cap 
tain  and  I  exchange  Notes.  —  I  reach  Columbus,  and  report  to  General 
Leonidas  Polk. — Assigned  to  Duty  as  Military  Conductor.  —  Unavail 
ing  Blandishments  of  the  Women.  —  A  mean  Piece  of  Malice.  —  General 
Lucius  M.  Polk  tries  to  play  a  Trick  on  Me.  —The  Path  of  Duty.  —  The 
General  put  under  Arrest.  —  An  Explanation  concerning  a  one-sided 
Joke.  —  I  become  dissatisfied,  and  tender  my  Resignation.  — A  Request 
to  Return  to  Virginia  and  enter  the  Secret  Service. — Acceptance  of  my 
Resignation.  —  The  Lull  before  the  Storm 145 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

A    MERRY-MAKING. 

In  Search  of  active  Employment.  —  On  the  Road  to  Bowling  Green,  Ken 
tucky.  —  My  travelling  Companions.  —  A  Halt  at  Paris.  —  A  hog-killing 
and  corn-shucking  Frolic. — Dancing  all  Night  in  the  School-house. — 
A  Quilting- Party.  —  My  particular  Attentions  to  a  Lady.  —  The  other 
Girls  Unhappy.  —  The  Reward  of  Gallantry. —What  General  Hardee 
had  to  say  to  Me.  —The  Woodsonville  Fight.  —  On  the  back  Track  for 
Fort  Donelson 154 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE  FALL  OF   FORT  DONELSON. 

The  Spirit  of  Partisanship.  —  My^Opinions  with  regard  to  the  Invincibil 
ity  of  the  Southern  Soldiers. —  Unprepared  to  sustain  the  Humiliation 
of  Defeat.  —  The  Beginning  of  the  End. —At  Fort  Donelson. —The 
Federal  Attack  Expected.  —  Preparations  for  the  Defence.  —  The  Garri 
son  confident  of  their  Ability  to  hold  the  Fort.  — The  Difference  between 
Summer  and  Winter  Campaigning.  —  Enthusiasm  supplanted  by  Hope 
and  Determination.  —  My  Boy  Bob  and  I  go  to  Work  in  the  Trenches.  — 
Too  much  of  a  Good  Thing.  —  Dirt-digging  not  exactly  in  my  Line.  — 
The  Federals  make  their  Appearance. —The  Opening  of  the  Battle.— 
On  Picket  Duty  in  the  Trenches  at  Night.  —Storm  of  Snow  and  Sleet. 

—  The^bitter  Cold.  —  Cries  and  Groans  of  the  Wounded.  —  My  Clothing 
stiff  with  Ice.  —  I  find  Myself  giving  Way,  but  manage  to  endure  until 
the   Relief  Comes.  —  Terrible   Suffering.  —  Singular  Ideas.  — A  Four 
Days'  Battle.  —The  Confederate  Successes  on  the  first  and  second  Days. 

—  The  Gunboats  driven  Off. —Desperate  Fighting  on  the  third  Day. — 
A  breathing  Spell.  —  The  Confederates  finally  driven  back  into  the  Fort. 

—  It  is  resolved  to  Surrender.  —  Generals  Floyd  and  Pillow  make  their 


CONTENTS.  19 

Escape.  — -  General  Buckner  surrenders  to  General  Grant.  —  Terrible 
Scenes  after  the  Battle  is  Over. — The  Ground  strewn  for  Miles  with 
Dead  and  Dying.  —  Wounded  Men  crushed  by  the  Artillery  Wagons.  — 
The  Houses  of  the  Town  of  Dover  filled  with  Wounded.  —  My  Depres 
sion  of  Spirits  on  Account  of  the  Terrible  Scenes  I  had  Witnessed.  .  161 


CHAPTER    XV. 

DETECTION  AND  ARREST  IN  NEW  ORLEANS. 

Taking  a  Rest  at  Nashville.  —  Again  on  the  March.  —  I  join  General  A.  S. 
Johnston's  Army.  —  Wounded  in  a  Skirmish.  — Am  afraid  of  having  my 
Sex  discovered,  and  leave  suddenly  for  New  Orleans.  —  In  New  Orleans  I 
am  suspected  of  being  a  Spy,  and  am  Arrested.  — The  Officer  who  makes 
the  Arrest  in  Doubt.  —  The  Provost  Marshal  orders  my  Release.  —  I  am 
again  arrested  by  the  Civil  Authorities  on  suspicion  of  being  a  Woman. 

—  No  Way  out  of  the  Scrape  but  to  reveal  my  Identity.  —  Private  Inter 
view  with  Mayor   Monroe.  —  The  Mayor  Fines  and  Imprisons  Me.  —  I 
enlist  as  a  Private  Soldier.  —  On  arriving  at  Fort  Pillow,  obtain  a  Trans 
fer  to  the  Army  of  East  Tennessee.     . 174 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

AN  UNFORTUNATE   LOVE   AFFAIR. 

Again  at  Memphis.  —  Public  and  private  Difficulties.  —  Future  Prospects. 

—  Arrival   of  my  Negro   Boy  and   Baggage   from   Grand  Junction. — A 
new  uniform  Suit.  —  Prepared  once  more  to  face  the  World.  —  I  fall  in 
with  an  old  Friend. — An  Exchange  of  Compliments.  — Late  Hours.  — 
Some  of  the  Effects  of  Late  Hours.  —  Confidential  Communications.  — 
The  Course  of  true  Love  runs  not  Smooth.  —  I  renew  my  Acquaintance 
with  General  Lucius  M.  Polk.  —  The  General  disposed  to  be  Friendly.  — 
My  Friend  and  I  call  on  his  Lady-love  and  her  Sister.  —  Surprising  Be 
havior  of  the  young  Lady.  —  A  genuine   Love-letter.  —  A  Secret  Dis 
closed.  —  Incidents  of  a  Buggy  Ride.  —  A  Declaration  of  Love.  —  Lieu 
tenant  H.  T.  Buford   as   a   Lady-killer.  —  Why  should  Women  not  pop 
the    Question   as    well    as    Men  ?  —  A    melancholy   Disclosure    for  my 
Friend.  —  I  endeavor  to  encourage   Him. — A  Visit  to  the  Theatre  and 
an  enjoyable  Evening.: — I   meet  a   Friend  from   New  Orleans,  and  en 
deavor  to  remove  any  Suspicions  with  regard  to  my  Identity  from  his 
Mind.  —  Progress  of  my  Love-affair  with   Miss  M.  — The  young  Lady 
and  I  have  our  Pictures  Taken.  — I  proceed  to  Corinth  for  the  Purpose 
of  taking  Part  in  the  expected  Battle.  —  The  Confederate  Army  advances 
from  Corinth  towards  Pittsburg  Landing 183 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   BATTLE   OF   SHILOH. 

A  Surprise  upon  the  Federal  Army  at  Pittsburg  Landing  Arranged.  — A 
brilliant  Victory  Expected.  —  I  start  for  the  Front,  and  encamp  for  the 
Night  at  Monterey.  — My  Slumbers  disturbed  by  a  Rain-storm.  —  I  find 
General  Hardee  near  Shiloh  Church,  and  ask  Permission  to  take  a  Hand 
in  the  Fight.  —  The  Opening  of  the  Battle.  —  Complete  Surprise  of  the 


20  CONTENTS. 

Federals.  —  I  see  my  Arkansas  Company,  and  join  It. — A  Lieutenant 
being  killed,  I  take  his  Place,  amid  a  hearty  Cheer  from  the  Men. —  A 
Secret  Revealed.  — I  fight  through  the  Battle  under  the  Command  of  my 
Lover.  —  Furious  Assaults  on  the  Enemy's  Lines. — The  Bullets  fly 
Thick  and  Fast.  —  General  Albert  Sydney  Johnston  Killed.  —  End  of  the 
First  Day's  Battle,  and  Victory  for  the  Confederates.  —  Beauregard's 
Error  in  not  pursuing  his  Advantage. — I  slip  through  the  Lines  after 
Dark,  and  watch  what  is  going  on  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  —  The  Gun 
boats  open  Fire.  — Unpleasant  Effect  of  Shells  from  big  Guns.  — Utter 
Demoralization  of  the  Federals.  —  Arrival  of  Buell  with  Re-enforcements. 
—  General  Grant  and  another  general  Officer  pass  near  Me  in  a  Boat, 
and  I  am  tempted  to  take  a  Shot  at  Them.  —  I  return  to  Camp,  and  wish 
to  report  what  I  had  seen  to  General  Beauregard,  but  am  dissuaded  from 
doing  so  by  my  Captain.  — Uneasy  Slumbers.  —  Commencement  of  the 
Second  Day's  Fight.  — The  Confederates  unable  to  contend  with  the 
Odds  against  Them.  —  A  lost  Opportunity.  —  The  Confederates  de 
feated,  and  compelled  to  retire  from  the  Field.  —  I  remain  in  the  Woods 
near  the  Battle-field  all  Night 200 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
WOUNDED. 

The  Morning  after  the  Battle  of  Shiloh.  —  My  Return  to  Camp.  —  A  Let 
ter  from  my  Memphis  Lady-love.  —  A  sad  Case.  —  My  Boy  Bob  Missing. 

—  I  start  out  to  search  for  Him.  —  A  runaway  Horse,  and  a  long  Tramp 
through  the  Mud.  —  Return  to  the  Battle-field.  —  Horrible  Scenes  along 
the  Road.  —  Out  on  a  Scouting  Expedition. — Burying  the  Dead. — I 
receive  a  severe  Wound. — Along  and  painful  Ride   back  to  Camp. — 
My  Wound  dressed  by  a  Surgeon,  and  my  Sex  discovered.  — A  Fugitive. 

—  Arrival  at  Grand  Junction.  —  Crowd  of  anxious  Inquirers.  —  Off  for 
New  Orleans.  —  Stoppages  at  Grenada,  Jackson,  and  Osyka  on  Account 
of  my  Wound.  —  The  Kindness  of  Friends.  —  Fresh  Attempt  to  reach 
New  Orleans.  —  Unsatisfactory  Appearance  of  the  Military  Situation.  — 
The  Passage  of  the  Forts  by  the  Federal  Fleet.  —  A  new  Field  of  Em 
ployment  opened  for  Me. —  I  resume  the  Garments  of  my  Sex.     .    .    219 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    CAPTURE  OF  NEW   ORLEANS,   AND    BUTLER'S   ADMIN 
ISTRATION. 

Capture  of  Island  No.  10. — The  impending  Attack  on  New  Orleans. — 
The  unsatisfactory  Military  Situation.  —  Confidence  of  Everybody  in 
the  River  Defences.  — My  Apprehensions  of  Defeat.  — The  Fall  of  New 
Orleans.  —  Excitement  in  the  City  on  the  News  of  the  Passage  of  the 
Forts  being  Received.  —  I  resolve  to  abandon  the  Career  of  a  Soldier, 
and  to  resume  the  Garments  of  my  own  Sex.  —  Appearance  of  the  Fleet 
opposite  the  City.  —  Immense  Destruction  of  Property.  —  My  Congrat 
ulations  to  Captain  Bailey  of  the  Navy.  —  Mayor  Monroe's  Refusal  to 
raise  the  Federal  Flag.  —  General  Butler  assumes  Command  of  the  City. 

—  Butler's  Brutality.  — I  procure  the  foreign  Papers  of  an  English  Lady, 
and  strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  the  Provost  Marshal.  —  Am  intro 
duced  to  other  Officers,  and  through  them  gain  Access  to  Headquarters. 

—  'Colonel  Butler  furnishes  me  with  the  necessary  Passes  to  get  through 


CONTENTS.  21 

the  Lines.  —  I  drive  an  active  Trade  in  Drugs  and  Confederate  Money 
while  carrying  Information  to  and  Fro.  —  Preparations  for  a  grand  final 
Speculation  in  Confederate  Money.  —  I  am  intrusted  with  a  Despatch 
for  the  "  Alabama,"  and  am  started  for  Havana 232 

CHAPTER    XX. 

A  VISIT  TO   HAVANA. 

A  Trip  to  Havana.  — My  Purposes  in  making  the  Journey.  — The  Results 
of  a  Year  of  Warfare.  —  Gloomy  Prospects.  —  A  Gleam  of  Hope  in  Vir 
ginia.  —  The  Delights  of  a  Voyage  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  — The  Island 
of  Cuba  in  Sight.  —  The  Approach  to  Havana.  —  I  communicate  with 
the  Confederate  Agents  and  deliver  my  Despatches.  —  An  Interchange 
of  valuable  Information.  —  The  Business  of  Blockade-running  and  its 
enormous  Profits.  —  The  Injury  to  the  Business  caused  by  the  Capture 
of  New  Orleans. — My  Return  to  New  Orleans  and  Preparation  for 
future  Adventures 244 

CHAPTER    XXL 

A  DIFFICULTY  WITH   BUTLER.  —  ESCAPE   FROM  NEW 
ORLEANS. 

Butler's  Rule  in  New  Orleans.  — A  System  of  Terrorism.  —  My  Acquaint 
ance  with  Federal  Officers.  —  I  resume  the  Business  of  carrying  Infor 
mation  through  the  Lines. — A  Trip  to  Robertson's  Plantation  for  the 
Purpose  of  carrying  a  Confederate  Despatch.  —  A  long  Tramp  after 
Night.  —  Some  of  the  Incidents  of  My  Journey.  —  The  Alligators  and 
Mosquitoes.  —  Arrival  at  my  Destination,  and  Delivery  of  the  Despatch 
to  a  Confederate  Officer.  — My  hospitable  Entertainment  by  Friends  of 
the  Confederacy.  —  My  Return  to  New  Orleans.  —  Capture  of  the  Bearer 
of  my  Despatch,  and  my  Arrest. — I  am  taken  before  Butler,  who  en 
deavors  to  extort  a  Confession  from  Me.  —  Butler  as  a  Bully.  — I  refuse 
to  confess,  and  am  ordered  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  Custom-House.  — 
My  Release,  through  the  Intercession  of  the  British  Consul.  —  I  resolve 
to  leave  New  Orleans,  for  fear  of  getting  into  further  Trouble.  — A  Bar 
gain  with  a  Fisherman  to  take  me  across  Lake  Pontchartrain.  —  My 
Escape  from  Butler's  Jurisdiction 253 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

CARRYING    DESPATCHES. 

Uncertainties  of  the  Military  Situation.  —  I  go  to  Jackson,  Mississippi. — 
Burning  of  the  Bowman  House  in  that  Place  by  Breckenridge's  Soldiers. 
—  The  unpleasant  Position  in  which  Non-combatants  were  Placed. — 
A  Visit  to  the  Camp  of  General  Dan.  Adams,  and  Interview  with  that 
Officer.  — I  visit  Hazlehurst,  and  carry  a  Message  to  General  Gardner  at 
Port  Hudson.  —  Recovery  of  my  Negro  Boy  Bob.  — General  Van  Dorn's 
Raid  on  Holly  Springs.  —  I  resolve  to  return  to  Virginia.  —  The  Results 
of  two  Years  of  Warfare.  —  Dark  Days  for  the  Confederacy.  —  Fighting 
against  Hope 268 


22  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

UNDER  ARREST  AGAIN. 

Commencement  of  a  new  Campaign.  —  Return  to  Richmond,  and  Arrest 
on  Suspicion  of  being  a  Woman.  —  Imprisonment  in  Castle  Thunder. — 
Kindness  to  Me  of  Major  J.  W.  Alexander  and  his  Wife.  —  I  refuse  to 
resume  the  Garments  of  my  Sex.  —  I  am  released,  and  placed  on  Duty 
in  the  Secret  Service  Corps.  — General  Winder,  the  Chief  of  the  Secret 
Service  Bureau.  — A  remarkable  Character.  —  General  Winder  sends  me 
with  blank  Despatches  to  General  Van  Dorn  to  try  Me.  —  A  Member  of 
the  North  Carolina  Home  Guards  attempts  to  arrest  Me  at  Charlotte.  — 
I  resist  the  Arrest,  and  am  permitted  to  Proceed.  —  The  Despatches 
delivered  to  Van  Dorn  in  Safety.  —  My  Arrest  in  Lynchburg.  —  The 
Rumors  that  were  in  Circulation  about  Me.  —  I  am  pestered  with  curious 
Visitors.  —  A  Couple  of  Ladies  deceived  by  a  simple  Trick.  —  A  comical 
Interview  with  an  old  Lady.  —  She  declares  herself  insulted.  —  An 
insulting  Letter  from  a  general  Officer.  —  My  indignant  Reply,  and  Offer 
to  fight  Him.  —  I  obtain  my  Release,  and  leave  Lynchburg 276 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

RUNNING  THROUGH   THE   FEDERAL  LINES. 

At  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  —  Arrival  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  on  its 
Way  to  re-enforce  Bragg's  Army.  —  I  obtain  Permission  for  Myself  and 
other  Officers  to  go  on  the  Train  Southward.  —  I  arrive  in  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  and  receive  Letters  from  several  Members  of  my  Family.  — I 
learn  for  the  first  Time  that  my  Brother  is  in  the  Confederate  Army.  — 
I  receive  Information  of  the  Officer  to  whom  I  am  engaged  to  be  mar 
ried,  and  whom  I  have  not  seen  since  the  Battle  of  Shiloh.  —  I  make  an 
Attempt  to  reach  Him,  but  am  unable  to  do  so.  —  Failing  in  an  En 
deavor  to  become  attached  to  General  Armstrong's  Command,  I  deter 
mine  to  undertake  an  Expedition  through  the  Lines.  — Finding  a  Sup 
ply  of  female  Garments  in  a  deserted  Farm-house,  I  attire  Myself  as  a 
Woman.  —  My  Uniform  hid  in  an  Ash-barrel. — An  Invasion  of  the 
Dairy.  —  I  start  for  the  Federal  Lines 288 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE   MILITARY   SECRET    SERVICE.  —  RETURN  FROM  A 
SPYING  EXPEDITION. 

The  Duties  of  Spies.  —The  Necessity  for  their  Employment.  —The  Status 
of  Spies,  and  the  extraordinary  Perils  they  Run.  —  Some  Remarks  about 
the  Secret  Service,  and  the  Necessity  for  its  Improvement.  —  I  reach  the 
Federal  Lines,  and  obtain  a  Pass  to  go  North  from  General  Rosecrans. 

—  On  my  Travels  in  search  of  Information.  —  Arrival  at  Martinsburg, 
and  am  put  in  the  Room  of  a  Federal  Officer. — A  Disturbance  in  the 
Night.  —  "  Who  is  that  Woman  ?  " —  I  make  an  advantageous  Acquain 
tance.  —  A  polite  Quartermaster.  — All  about  a  pretended  dead  Brother. 

—  How  Secret  Service  Agents  go  about  their  Work. —A  Visit  to  my 
pretended  Brother's  Grave,  and  what  I  gained  by  It.  —  I  succeed  in  giv 
ing   one  of  Mosby's    Pickets   an   important  Bit  of  Information. — The 
polite  Attention   of  Federal   Officers.  —  I  return   to   Chatanooga,    and 


CONTENTS.  23 

resume  my  Confederate  Uniform. — A  perilous  Attempt  to  reach  the 
Confederate  Lines. — What  a  Drink  of  Whiskey  can  do.  —  I  become 
lame  in  my  wounded  Foot,  and  am  sent  to  Atlanta  for  medical  Treat 
ment 298 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

IN   THE   HOSPITAL. 

The  Kind  of  People  an  Army  is  made  up  Of.  —  Gentlemen  and  Black 
guards. —  The  Demoralization  of  Warfare.  —  How  I  managed  to  keep 
out  of  Difficulties.  —  The  Value  of  a  fighting  Reputation.  —  A  Quarrel 
with  a  drunken  General.  —  I  threaten  to  shoot  Him.  —  My  Illness,  and 
the  kind  Attentions  received  from  Friends.  —  I  am  admitted  to  the  Em 
pire  Hospital.  —  The  Irksomeness  of  a  Sick-bed.  —  I  learn  that  my 
Lover  is  in  the  same  Hospital,  and  resolve  to  see  him  as  soon  as  I  am 
Convalescent 310 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 
A  STRANGE    STORY  OF  TRUE  LOVE. 

Sick-bed  Fancies.  —  Reflections  on  my  military  Career.  —  I  almost  resolve 
to  abandon  the  Garb  of  a  Soldier.  —  Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  achieving 
Greatness.  — Warfare  as  a  laborious  Business.  —  The  Favors  of  Fortune 
sparingly  Bestowed.  —  Prospective  Meeting  with  my  Lover.  —  Anxiety 
to  know  what  he  would  think  of  the  Course  I  had  been  pursuing  in  fig 
uring  in  the  Army  as  a  Man. — A  strange  Courtship.  —  More  like  a 
Chapter  of  Romance  than  a  grave  Reality.  —  My  Recollections  of  an 
old  Spanish  Story,  read  in  my  Childhood,  that  in  some  Respects  reminds 
me  of  my  own  Experiences — The  Story  of  Estela.  —  How  the  Desires 
of  a  Pair  of  Lovers  were  opposed  by  stern  Parents. — An  Elopement 
Planned.  —  The  Abduction  of  Estela  through  the  Instrumentality  of  a 
Rival.  —  She  is  carried  off  by  Moorish  Pirates,  and  sold  as  a  Slave. — 
Her  Escape  from  Slavery,  and  how  she  entered  the  Army  of  the  Em 
peror  disguised  as  a  Man.  —  Estela  saves  the  Emperor's  Life,  and  is  pro 
moted  to  a  high  Office —  Her  Meeting  with  her  Lover,  and  her  Endeav 
ors  to  make  him  confess  his  Faith  in  her  Honor.  —  The  Appointment 
of  Estela  as  Governor  of  her  native  City.  —  The  Trial  of  her  Lover  on 
the  Charge  of  having  murdered  her.  —  Happy  Ending  of  the  Story.  —  I 
am  inspired,  by  my  Recollections  of  the  Story  of  Estela,  to  hear  from 
the  Lips  of  my  Lover  his  Opinion  of  me  before  I  reveal  myself  to  him. 
—  Impatient  Waiting  for  the  Hour  of  Meeting 317 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
AGAIN  A  WIFE  AND  AGAIN  A  WIDOW. 

Convalescence.  — I  pay  a  Visit  to  my  Lover. — A  friendly  Feeling. —A 
Surprise  in  Store  for  him.  — I  ask  him  about  his  Matrimonial  Prospects, 
and  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  State  of  his  Affections  towards  me.  —  An 
affecting  Scene.  —The  Captain  receives  a  Letter  from  his  Lady-love.  — 
I'  She  has  come  !  She  has  come  !  "  —  The  Captain  prepares  for  a  Meet 
ing  with  his  Sweetheart.  — A  Question  of  Likeness.  —  A  puzzling  Sit- 


24  CONTENTS. 

uation. — I  reveal  my  Identity.  —  Astonishment  and  Joy  of  my  Lover. 

—  Preparations  for  our  Wedding. — A  very  quiet  Affair  Proposed. — 
The  Wedding.  —  A  short  Honeymoon.  — Departure  of  my  Husband  for 
the  Front.  —  My  Apprehensions  for  his   Health. — My  Apprehensions 
justified  in  the  News  of  his  Death  in  a  Federal  Hospital  in  Chatanooga. 

—  Once  more  a  Widow 326 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

IN  THE   CONFEDERATE   SECRET   SERVICE. 

Altered  Circumstances.  — The  Result  of  two  Years  and  a  half  Experience 
in  Warfare. — The  Difference  between  the  Emotions  of  a  raw  Recruit 
and  a  Veteran.  — Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  deciding  what  Course  it  was 
best  to  pursue  for  the  Future.  —  I  resolve  to  go  to  Richmond  in  Search 
of  active  Employment  of  some  Kind.  —  The  Military  Situation  in  the 
Autumn  of  1863.  —  Concentration  of  the  Armies  at  Richmond  and  Chat 
anooga.  —  Richmond  safe  from  Capture.  —  The  Results  of  the  Battle  of 
Chickamauga.  —  Rosecrans  penned  up  in  Chatanooga  by  Bragg.  —  The 
Pinch  of  the  Fight  Approaching.  —  Hopes  of  foreign  Intervention.  — 
An  apparently  encouraging  Condition  of  Affairs.  —  I  go  to  Richmond, 
and  have  Interviews  with  President  Davis  and  General  Winder.  —  I  am 
furnished  by  the  Latter  with  a  Letter  of  Recommendation,  and  start  on  a 
grand  Tour  through  the  Confederacy.  — Arrival  at  Mobile,  and  Meeting 
with  old  Army  Friends 339 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
ON     DUTY    AS    A    SPY. 

I  receive  a  mysterious  Note,  requesting  me  to  meet  the  Writer.  —  I  go  to 
the  appointed  Place,  and  find  an  Officer  of  the  Secret  Service  Corps, 
who  wants  me  to  go  through  the  Lines  with  Despatches.  — I  accept  the 
Commission,  and  the  next  Day  go  to  Meridian  for  the  Purpose  of  com 
pleting  my  Arrangement  and  receiving  my  Instructions.  —  A  Visit  to 
General  Ferguson's  Headquarters.  —  Final  Instructions  from  the  Gen 
eral,  who  presents  me  with  a  Pistol.  — I  start  for  the  Federal  Lines,  and 
ride  all  Night  and  all  the  next  Day.  — A  rough  and  toilsome  Journey.  — 
I  spend  the  Night  in  a  Negro's  Cabin.  —  Off  again  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  Morning  with  an  old  Negro  Man  for  a  Guide.  —  We  reach  the  Neigh 
borhood  of  the  Federal  Pickets,  and  I  send  my  Guide  back.  —  I  bury  my 
Pistol  in  a  Church.  —  I  am  halted  by  a  Picket-guard,  and  am  taken  to 
Moscow.  — A  Cross-examination  by  the  Colonel  in  Command.  — Satis 
factory  Result  for  Myself. —  On  the  Train  for  Memphis. — Insulting 
Remarks  from  the  Soldiers. — A  Major  interferes  for  my  Protection. — 
Off  for  General  Washburn's  Headquarters 348 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

SENDING    INFORMATION    TO     THE     CONFEDERATES     FROM 

MEMPHIS. 

:My  Friend,  the  Lieutenant,  concludes  that  he  will  make  himself  better 
acquainted  with  me.  —  Indiscreet  Confidences.  —  Some  of  the  Traits  of 


CONTENTS.  25 

Human  Nature.  —  The  Kind  of  Secrets  Women  can  Keep.  —  Women 
better  than  Men  for  certain  Kinds  of  Secret  Service  Duty.  —  The  Lieu 
tenant  wants  to  know  all  about  me.  — I  suspect  that  he  has  Matrimonial 
Inclinations.  —  He  is  anxious  to  discover  whether  I  have  any  wealthy 
Relations.  — I  am  induced  to  think  that  I  can  make  him  useful  in  obtain 
ing  Information  with  regard  to  the  Federal  Movements.  — The  Lieuten 
ant  expresses  his  Opinion  attout  the  War. — Arrival  at  Memphis. — 
Visit  to  the  Provost  Marshal's  Office.  —  General  Washburn  too  ill  to  see 
me.  —  I  enclose  him  the  bogus  Despatch  I  have  for  him,  with  an  ex 
planatory  Note. —  The  Lieutenant  escorts  me  to  the  Hard  wick  House, 
and  I  request  him  to  call  in  the  Morning.  —  Procuring  a  Change  of 
Dress  through  One  of  the  Servants,  I  slip  out,  and  have  an  Interview 
with  my  Confederate,  and  give  him  the  Despatch  for  General  Forrest. 

—  On  returning  to  the  Hotel,  I  meet  the  Lieutenant  on  the  Street,  but 
manage   to   pass   him  without  being  observed.  —  Satisfactory  Accom 
plishment  of  my  Errand 362 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

FORREST'S    GREAT    RAID. —GOING    NORTH   ON    A    MISSION 

OF  MERCY. 

A  Friend  in  Need  is  a  Friend  Indeed.  —  The  Lieutenant  aids  me  in  pro 
curing  a  new  Wardrobe.  —  I  succeed  in  rinding  out  all  I  want  to  know 
about  the  Number  and  the  Disposition  of  the  Federal  Troops  on  the 
Line  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad.  —  A  Movement  made  in 
accordance  with  the  bogus  Despatch  which  I  had  brought  to  General 
Washburn.  —  Forrest  makes  his  Raid,  and  I  pretend  to  be  alarmed  lest 
the  Rebels  should  capture  me. — The  Lieutenant  continues  his  Atten 
tions,  and  Something  occurs  to  induce  me  to  change  my  Plans.  — I  have 
an  Interview  with  an  Officer  of  my  Brother's  Command,  and  learn  that 
he  is  a  Prisoner.  —  I  resolve  to  go  to  him,  and  leave  for  the  North  on 
a  Pass  furnished  by  General  Washburn.  — At  Louisville  I  have  an  In 
terview  with  a  mysterious  secret  Agent  of  the  Confederacy,  who  supplies 
me  with  Funds. —  On  reaching  Columbus,  Ohio,  I  obtain  a  Permit  to 
see  my  Brother.  —  Through  the  Agency  of  Governor  Brough  my  Brother 
is  released,  and  we  go  East  together,  —  he  to  New  York,  I  to  Wash 
ington 373 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

SECRET  SERVICE  DUTY  AT  THE   NORTH. 

New  Scenes  and  new  Associations.  —  My  first  Visit  to  the  North.  — The 
Wealth  and  Prosperity  of  the  North  contrasted  with  the  Poverty  and 
Desolation  of  the  South.  —  Much  of  the  northern  Prosperity  fictitious. 

—  The  anti-war  Party  and  its  Strength.  —  How  some  of  the  People  of 
the  North   made  Money  during  the  War. —  "Loyal"  Blockade-runners 
and  Smugglers.  —  Confederate  Spies  and  Emissaries  in  the  Government 
Offices.  —  The  Opposition  to  the  Draft.  —  The  bounty-jumping  Frauds. 

—  My  Connection  with  them.  —  Operations  of  the   Confederate  Secret 
Service  Agents.  — Other  Ways  of  fighting  the  Enemy  than  by  Battles  in 
the  Field.  — I  arrange  a  Plan  of  Operations,  and  place  myself  in  com 
munication  with  the    Confederate  Authorities   at  Richmond,  and  also 
with  Federal  Officials  at  Washington  and  Elsewhere.  —  I  abandon  Fight 
ing  for  Strategy 383 


26  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

PLAYING  A  DOUBLE   GAME. 

Studying  the  Situation.  —  I  renew  my  Acquaintance  with  old  Friends  of 
the  Federal  Army.  —  Half-formed  Plans.  —  I  obtain  an  Introduction  to 
Colonel  Lafayette  C.  Baker,  Chief  of  the  United  States  Secret  Service 
Corps.  —  Colonel  Baker  and  General  Winder  of  the  Confederate  Secret 
Service  compared.  —  Baker  a  good  Detective  Officer,  but  far  inferior  to 
Winder  as  the  Head  of  a  Secret  Service  Department.  —  I  solicit  Employ 
ment  from  Baker  as  a  Detective,  and  am  indorsed  by  my  Friend  General 
A.  —  Baker  gives  a  rather  indefinite  Answer  to  my  Application. — I  go 
to  New  York,  and  fall  in  with  Confederate  Secret  Service  Agents,  who 
employ  me  to  assist  them  in  various  Schemes. —  Learning  the  Ropes.  — 
I  send  Intelligence  of  my  Movements  to  Richmond,  and  am  enrolled  as 
a  Confederate  Agent.  —  I  have  several  Interviews  with  Baker,  and  suc 
ceed  in  gaining  his  Confidence.  —  Baker's  Surprise  and  Disgust  at 
various  Times  at  his  Plans  leaking  Out.  —The  Secret  of  tjie  Leakage 
Revealed 392 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

VISIT  TO   RICHMOND  AND   CANADA. 

An  Attack  on  the  Rear  of  the  Enemy  in  Contemplation.  — The  Difficulties 
in  the  Way  of  its  Execution.  —  What  it  was  expected  to  Accomplish/ — 
The  Federals  to  be  placed  between  two  Fires.  —  I  have  an  Interview 
with  Colonel  Baker,  and  propose  a  Trip  to  Richrnond.  —  He  assents, 
and  furnishes  me  with  Passes  and  Means  to  make  the  Journey.  —  I  run 
through  the  Lines,  and  reach  Richmond  in  Safety. — I  return  by  a 
roundabout  Route,  laden  with  Despatches,  Letters,  Commercial  Orders, 
Money  Drafts,  and  other  valuable  Documents.  —  I  am  delayed  in  Balti 
more,  and  fall  short  of  Money.  —  The  Difficulties  I  had  in  getting  my 
Purse  filled.  —  Sickness.  —  I  visit  Lewes,  Delaware,  and  deliver  Instruc 
tions  to  a  Blockade-runner.  —  On  reaching  New  York  I  learn  that  a  De 
tective  is  after  me.  —  I  start  for  Canada,  and  meeting  the  Detective  in 
the  Cars,  strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  him.  —  He  shows  me  a  Pho 
tograph,  supposed  to  be  of  myself,  and  tells  me  what  his  Plans  are — 
The  Detective  baffled,  and  my  safe  Arrival  in  Canada.  —  Hearty  Wel 
come  by  the  Confederates  there.  —  I  transact  my  Business,  and  prepare 
to  return 403 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  A  WESTERN  TRIP. 

I  return  to  Washington  for  the  Purpose  of  reporting  to  Colonel  Baker.  — 
Apprehensions  with  regard  to  the  Kind  of  Reception  I  am  likely  to  have 
from  him. — The -Colonel  amiable,  and  apparently  unsuspicious.  —  I 
give  him  an  Account  of  my  Richmond  Trip,  and  receive  his  Congrat 
ulations. —  General  A.  calls  on  me,  and  he,  Baker,  and  I  go  to  the  The 
atre.  —  A  Supper  at  the  Grand  Hotel.  —  Baker  calls  on  me  the  next 
Morning,  and  proposes  that  I  shall  visit  the  Military  Prisons  at  John 
son's  Island  and  elsewhere,  for  the  Purpose  of  discovering  whether  the 
Confederate  Prisoners  have  any  Intentions  of  Escaping.  —  I  accept  the 
Commission,  and  start  for  the  West.  —  Reflections  on  the  Military  and 
Political  Situations 420 


CONTENTS.  27 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

JOHNSON'S  ISLAND.  —  PREPARATIONS  FOR  AN  ATTACK  ON 
THE  FEDERAL  REAR. 

On  the  Way  to  Sandusky.  — I  am  introduced  to  a  Federal  Lieutenant  on 
the  Cars,  who  is  conducting  Confederate  Prisoners  to  Johnson's  Island. 
—  He  permits  me  to  converse  with  the  Prisoners,  and  I  distribute  some 
Money  among  them. — Arrival  at  Sandusky.  —  First  View  of  Johnson's 
Island.  —  I  visit  the  Island,  and,  on  the  strength  of  Colonel  Baker's  Let 
ter,  am  permitted  to  go  into  the  Enclosure  and  converse  with  the  Pris 
oners.  —  I  have  a  Talk  with  a  young  Confederate  Officer,  and  give  him 
Money  and  Despatches,  and  explain  what  is  to  be  done  for  the  Libera 
tion  of  himself  and  his  Companions.  —  Returning  to  Sandusky,  I  send 
Telegraphic  Despatches  to  the  Agents  in  Detroit,  Buffalo,  and  Indianap 
olis. —  How  the  grand  Raid  was  to  have  been  made.  —  Its  Failure 
through  the  Treason  or  Cowardice  of  one  Man 433 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

IN  THE   INDIANAPOLIS   ARSENAL.  —  FAILURE   OF  THE   PRO 
JECTED   RAID. 

I  deliver  Despatches  to  Agents  in  Indianapolis.  —  Waiting  for  Orders.  — 
I  obtain  Access-  to  the  Prison  Camp,  and  confer  with  a  Confederate  Offi 
cer  confined  there.  —  I  apply  to  Governor  Morton  for  Employment,  and 
am  sent  by  him  to  the  Arsenal.  —  I  obtain  a  Situation  in  the  Arsenal, 
and  am  set  to  work  packing  Cartridges.  — I  form  a  Project  for  blowing 
up  the  Arsenal. — Reasons  for  its  Abandonment. — I  receive  a  suspi 
cious  Number  of  Letters.  —  How  I  obtained  my  Money  Package  from 
the  Express  Office.  —  I  go  to  St.  Louis,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  Employ 
ment  at  the  Planters'  House,  for  the  Purpose  of  enabling  me  to  gain 
Information  from  the  Federal  Officers  lodging  there.  —  Failing  in  this, 
I  strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  a  Chambermaid,  and  by  Means  of  her 
Pass  Key  gain  Access  to  several  Rooms.  —  I  gain  some  Information 
from  Despatches  which  I  find,  and  am  very  nearly  detected  by  a  Bell 
Boy.  —  I  go  to  Hannibal  to  deliver  a  Despatch  relating  to  the  Indians.  — 
Hearing  of  the  Failure  of  the  Johnson's  Island  Raid,  I  return  East,  and 
send  in  my  Resignation  to  Colonel  Baker 444 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

BLOCKADE-RUNNING. 

Making  Preparations  for  going  into  Business  as  a  Blockade-runner.  — The 
Trade  in  Contraband  Goods  by  Northern  Manufacturers  and  Merchants. 
—  Profits  versus  Patriotism.  —  The  secret  History  of  the  War  yet  to  be 
told. — This  Narrative  a  Contribution  to  it.  —  Some  dark  Transactions 
of  which  I  was  Cognizant.  —  Purchasing  Goods  for  the  Southern  Mar 
ket,  and  shipping  them  on  Board  of  a  Schooner  in  the  North  River.  — 
How  such  Transactions  were  managed.  — The  Schooner  having  sailed, 
I  go  to  Havana  by  Steamer.  —  On  reaching  Havana  I  meet  some  old 
Friends.  —  The  Condition  of  the  blockade-running  Business  during  the 
last  Year  of  the  War.  —  My  Acquaintances  in  Havana  think  that  the 
Prospects  of  the  Confederacy  are  rather  gloomy.  —  I  visit  Barbadoes, 


28  CONTENTS. 

and  afterwards  St.  Thomas. —While  at  St.  Thomas  the  Confederate 
Cruiser  Florida  comes  in,  coals,  and  gets  to  Sea  again,  despite  the  Fed 
eral  Fleet  watching  her 454 

CHAPTER    XL. 
AN  ATTACK  ON  THE  FEDERAL  TREASURY. 

The  Bounty-jumping  and  Substitute-brokerage  Business.  —  Rascalities  in 
high  Life  and  low  Life.  —  Bounty-jumpers  and  Substitute-brokers  not 
the  worst  Rogues  of  the  Period.  —  High  Officials  of  the  Government 
implicated  in  Swindles. — Baker's  Raid  on  the  Treasury  Ring,  and  the 
Charges  of  Conspiracy  brought  against  him  by  Members  of  Congress 
and  others. — A  Committee  of  Congress  exonerates  the  guilty  Parties, 
and  blames  Baker  for  exposing  them.  —  What  I  know  about  these 
Transactions.  —  Money  needed  to  carry  on  the  Confederate  Operations 
at  the  North.  —  Federal  Officials  countenancing  the  Issue  of  counterfeit 
Confederate  Bonds  and  Notes.  —  I  go  to  Washington  for  the  Purpose  of 
getting  in  with  the  Treasury  Ring.  — A  rebel  Clerk  introduces  me  to  a 
high  Official,  who,  on  Condition  of  sharing  in  the  Profits,  introduces 
me  to  the  Printing  Bureau  of  the  Treasury.  —  The  Trade  with  England 
in  bogus  Federal  and  Confederate  Securities.  — Making  Johnny  Bull 
pay  some  of  the  Expenses  of  the  War 464 

CHAPTER    XLI. 
COUNTERFEITING  AND  'BOGUS  BOND   SPECULATIONS. 

Introduction  to  an  Official  of  the  Printing  Bureau  of  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment. —  The  Chief  of  the  Treasury,  Ring. — I  am  referred  by  him  to 
another  Person  in  the  Bureau,  who  arranges  for  a  private  Interview 
with  me  under  a  Cedar  Tree  in  the  Smithsonian  Grounds.  —  The  Influ 
ence  of  certain  Rascals  in  the  Treasury  Department  with  Secretary 
Chase  and  other  high  Officials.  —  The  Scandals  about  the  Women  Em 
ployees  in  the  Department.  —  Baker's  Investigation  baffled. — The  Case 
of  Dr.  Gwynn. — The  Conference  under  the  Cedar  Tree. — A  grand 
Scheme  for  speculating  with  Government  Funds.  —  I  obtain  Possession 
of  an  Electrotype  Fac-Simile  of  a  One-Hundred  Dollar  Compound  Interest 
Plate.  — A  Package  of  Money  left  for  me  under  the  Cedar  Tree.  —  Spec 
ulation  in  bogus  Confederate  and  Federal  Notes  and  Bonds.  —  How  the 
Thing  was  Managed  .  —  Increase  of  illicit  Speculation  as  the  War  Pro 
gressed.  —  Bankers,  Brokers,  and  other  Men  of  high  Reputation  impli 
cated  in  it.  —  Counterfeiting,  to  a  practically  unlimited  Extent,  carried 
on  with  the  Aid  of  Electrotypes  furnished  from  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment.  —  Advantages  taken  by  the  Confederate  Agent  of  the  general 
Demoralization 476 

CHAPTER    XLII. 
BOUNTY-JUMPING. 

The  Bounty-jumping  and  Substitute-brokerage  Frauds,  and  their  Origin. 
—  New  York  the  Headquarters  of  the  Bounty  and  Substitute-Brokers.  — 
Prominent  Military  Officers  and  Civilians  implicated  in  the  Frauds. — 
How  newly-enlisted  Men  managed  to  escape  from  Governor's  Island.  — 


CONTENTS.  29 

Castle  Garden  the  great  Resort  of  Substitute-brokers.  —  How  the  poor 
Foreigners  were  entrapped  by  lying  Promises  made  to  them.  —  How 
these  Frauds  could  have  been  prevented  by  an  impartial  Conscrip 
tion  Law  impartially  administered.  —  Colonel  Baker  arrives  in  New 
York  for  the  Purpose  of  commencing  an  Investigation.  —  He  asks  me  to 
assist  him,  which  I  consent  to  do,  after  warning  my  Associates.  — How 
Baker  went  to  Work.  —  Striking  up  an  Acquaintance  with  Jim  Fisk.  — 
Fisk  gives  me  Money  for  a  Charitable  Object,  and  Railroad  Passes  for 
poor  Soldiers.  —  An  Oil  Stock  Speculation 488 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

THE   SURRENDER   OF  LEE. 

Another  Expedition  to  the  West.  —  Hiring  out  as  a  House  Servant.  —  A 
Termagant  Mistress.  —  Obtaining  a  Situation  in  a  Copperhead  Family. 

—  Introduction  to  Confederate  Sympathizers.  —  A  Contribution  to  the 
Fund  for  the  Relief  of  Confederate  Prisoners.  —  I  go  to  Canada,  and 
from  there  to  New  York,  with  Orders  for  various  Confederate  Agents.  — 
Sherman's  March  through  the  Carolinas.  —  I  am  induced  to  go  to  Lon 
don  on  a  financial  Mission.  — Unsatisfactory  News  received,  and  I  hasten 
Home.  —  The  News  of  Lee's  Surrender  brought  on  board  the  Steamer 
by  the  Pilot.  —  Excitement  in  Wall  Street.  — A  Settlement  with  my  Part 
ner,  and  the  last  of  my  secret  Banking 499 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

THE  ASSASSINATION    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN,  AND   END 
OF  THE   WAR. 

Another  Western  Trip.  —  Delivering  Despatches  to  Quantrell's  Courier. 

—  A    Stoppage   at   Columbus,   Ohio.  —  News   of  the   Assassination  of 
President  Lincoln.  —  Return   to   New  York.  —  Derangement   of   Plans 
caused  by  the  Assassination.  —  I  again  go  West.  —  Mr.  Lincoln's  Body 
lying  in   State   at  Columbus.  —  Return   to  Washington,  and  Interview 
with  Baker.  —  I  meet  a  Confederate  Officer,  and  get  him  to  take  a  Mes 
sage  for  me  to  the   South.  —  An  aged  Admirer.  —  Colonel  Baker  pro- 

Eoses  that  I  shall  start  on  an  Expedition  in  Search  of  myself.  —  A  Letter 
•om  my  Brother,  and  a  Request  to  meet  him  in  New  York. — A  Deter 
mination  to  visit  Europe.  —  I  accept  Baker's  Commission,  and  start  for 
New  York 508 

CHAPTER    XLV. 

A  TOUR  THROUGH  EUROPE. 

Off  for  Europe.  —  Seasickness.  — An  over-attentive  Doctor.  — Advantages 
of  knowing  more  Languages  than  one.  —  A  young  Spaniard  in  Love. 

—  Arrival  in  London.  —  Paris  and  its  Sights.  —  Rheims  and  the  Cham 
pagne  Country.  —  Frankfort  on  the  Main.  —  A  beautiful  Country,  and  a 
thriving  People. — A  Visit  to  Poland.  —  Return  to  Paris,  and  Meeting 
with  old  Confederates.  —  Friends  who  knew  me,  and  who  did  not  know 
me.  —  Finding   out  what   my  old  Army  Associates   thought  of  Me.  — 
Back  to  London. — A  Visit  to  Hyde  Park,  and  a  Sight  of  Queen  Vic 
toria. —  Manchester   and   its   Mills.  —  Homeward    Bound. —  Return  to 
New  York,  and  Separation  from  my  Brother  and  his  Family.    ...    519 


30  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XLVL 

SOUTH   AMERICAN   EXPEDITION. 

A  Southern  Tour. —Visit  to  Baltimore  and  Washington.  —  The  Desola 
tions  of  War  as  visible  in  Richmond,  Columbia,  and  Charlotte.  —  A 
Race  with  a  Federal  Officer  at  Charleston. — Meeting  with  old  Friends 
at  Atlanta.  —  A  Surprise  for  one  of  them. — Travelling  over  my  old 
Campaigning  Ground.  —  The  Forlorn  Appearance  of  Things  in  New 
Orleans. — Emigration  Projects. — I  make  some  Investigation  into  them, 
and  decide  to  go  to  South  America  for  the  Purpose  of  looking  at  the 
Country,  and  reporting  to  my  Friends.  —  The  Venezuelan  Expedition 
and  its  Projector.  —  I  suspect  that  it  is  a  mere  Speculation,  but  conclude 
to  accompany  it.  —  My  third  Marriage.  —  I  endeavor  to  persuade  my 
Husband  to  seek  a  Home  in  the  Far  West,  but  on  his  Refusal,  sail  with 
him  for  Venezuela.  —  Forty-nine  Persons  packed  in  a  small  Schooner, 
with  no  Conveniences,  and  with  scanty  Provisions.  — A  horrible  Voyage. 
—  Sighting  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Orinoco 531 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 

VENEZUELA. 

Taking  a  Pilot  on  Board.  — A  perplexing  Predicament.  —  Beautiful  Scen 
ery  along  the  Orinoco.  —  Negro  Officials.  —  Disgust  of  some  of  the 
Emigrants. — Frightened  Natives. — Arrival  at  the  City  of  Bolivar. — 
The  United  States  Consul  ashamed  of  the  Expedition. — Death  of  my 
Husband.  —  Another  Expedition  makes  its  Appearance.  —  Sufferings  of 
the  Emigrants.  — I  write  a  Letter  to  my  Friends  in  New  Orleans,  warn 
ing  them  not  to  come  to  Venezuela.  —  Rival  Lovers.  —  I  conclude  that  I 
have  had  enough  of  Matrimony,  and  encourage  neither  of  them. —  A 
Trip  by  Sea  to  La  Guyra  and  Caraccas.  —  I  prepare  to  leave.  —  What  I 
learned  in  Venezuela.  —  The  Resources  of  the  Country 542 

CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

DEMERARA,   TRINIDAD,   BARBADOES,   AND    ST.    LUCIA. 

From  Venezuela  to  Demerara.  — The  Hotels  of  Georgetown,  Demerara.  — 
The  United  States  Consul  at  Georgetown.  —  A  Visit  to  a  Coffee  Planta 
tion.  —  A  Cooly  murders  his  Wife.  —  Excitement  in  the  Streets  of 
Georgetown.  —  The  Products  of  Demerara.  —  Fort  Spain,  Trinidad.  —A 
very  dirty  Town. — Bridgetown,  Barbadoes.  —  Having  a  good  Time 
among  old  Friends.  —  A  Drive  to  Speightstown.  —  St.  Lucia.  — The  old 
Homestead. —  Reminiscences  of  Childhood. — The  Past,  the  Present, 
and  the  Future.  —  The  Family  Burying-ground 553 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

ST.   THOMAS   AND   CUBA. 

St.  Thomas.  — A  cordial  Welcome.  —  A  Reception  at  the  Hotel.  —  Points 
of  Interest  at  St.  Thomas.  — The  Escape  of  the  Florida.  —  Santiago  de 
Cuba.  —  Hospitalities.  —  Havana.  —  Visits  from  my  Relatives. — Cour 
tesies  from  Spanish  Officials  and  others.  —  I  take  part  in  a  Procession, 


CONTENTS.  31 

attired  as  a  Spanish  Officer.  —  General  Mansana  taken  sick.  —  A 
Steamer  in  the  Harbor,  with  Emigrants  from  the  United  States  on  board, 
bound  for  Para.  —  I  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  Return.  —  Death  of 
General  Mansana.  —  I  start  for  New  York 562 

CHAPTER    L. 

ACROSS  THE   CONTINENT. 

Across  the  Continent  in  search  of  a  Fortune.  —  Omaha.  — A  Meeting  with 
the  veteran  General  Harney.  - —  Governor  C.  asks  me  to  introduce  him  to 
the  General.  — The  Backwoodsman  and  the  veteran  Soldier.  —  The  Gen 
eral  induces  me  to  tell  the  Story  of  my  Career,  and  gives  me  some  good 
Advice.  —  Off  for  a  long  Stage-coach  Ride.  —  Rough  Fellow-Travellers. 

—  An  unmannerly  Army  Officer  taught  Politeness. — Julesburg. — An 
undesirable  Place  foV  a  permanent  Residence.  —  An  atrocious  Murder.  — 
More    unpleasant   travelling    Companions.  —  Cheyenne.  —  A    Frontier 
Hotel. — Lack  of  even  decent  Accommodations. — An  undesirable  Bed 
fellow.  —  A  Visit  to  Laporte.  —  Again  on  the  Road.  — A  Water-Spout  in 
Echo  Canon. — The  Coach  caught  in  a  Quicksand.  —  Mormon   Hospi 
talities.  —  Salt  Lake  City.  — Arrival  at  the  City  of  Austin,  Nevada.  .    570 

CHAPTER    LI. 

MINING  IN  UTAH  AND   NEVADA. —THE   MORMONS   AND 
THEIR   COUNTRY. 

Noisy  Neighbors.  —  A  Nevada  Desperado.  —  The  Aristocracy  of  Austin. 

—  My  Marriage. — Speculation  in  Mines  and  Mining  Stock.  —  Removal 
to  Sacramento  Valley,  California. — Off  for  the  Gold  Regions  again.  —  A 
characteristic  Fraud. —  "Salting"  a  Mine.  —  The  Well-ington  District. 

—  A  Description  of  the  Country,  and  its  Animal,  Vegetable,  and  Min 
eral  Products.  —  A  Residence  in  Salt  Lake  City.  —  Acquaintance  with 
prominent  Mormons,  and  Inquiries   into  the  Nature  of  their  Belief.  — 
Mormon  Principles  and   Practices.  —  Salt  Lake   City  and  its  Surround 
ings.  —  The  Mineral  Wealth    of  Utah.  —  Preparing  to   Return  to  the 
East '. 584 

CHAPTER    LII. 
COLORADO,   NEW  MEXICO,   AND  TEXAS.  —  CONCLUSION. 

Denver. —  Pueblo.  — Trinidad.  —  Stockton's  Ranche.  —  A  Headquarters 
for  Desperadoes. —  Cattle  Stealing.  —  A  private  Graveyard.  — Maxwell's 
Ranche.  —  Dry  Cimmaron.  —  Fort  Union.  —  Santa  Fe.  —  The  oldest 
City  in  New  Mexico.  —  A  Wagon  Journey  down  the  Valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  —  Evidences  of  Ancient  Civilization. —  Fort  McRae  and  the 
Hot  Spring.  —  Mowry,  City.  — The  Gold  Mining  Region  of  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona. — El  Paso.  —  A  thriving  Town.  —  A  Stage  Ride  through 
Western  Texas.  —  Fort  Bliss.  —  Fort  Quitman  and  Eagle  Spring.  —  The 
Leon  Holes.  —  Fort  Stockton.  —  The  Rio  Pecos.  —  A  fine  Country.— 
Approaching  Civilization. —The  End  of  the  Story 597 


THE  WOMAN  IN  BATTLE. 


M 


??-»  A* 

>^»  » 


CHAPTER   I. 
CHILDHOOD. 

The  Woman  in  Battle.  —  Heroines  of  History.  —  Joan  of  Arc.  —  A  Desire 
to  emulate  Her.  —  The  Opportunity  that  was  offered.  —  Breaking  out  of 
the  War  between  the  North  and  the  South.  —  Determination  to  take 
part  in  the  Contest.  —  A  noble  Ancestry.  —  The  Velazquez  Family.  —  My 
Birth  at  Havana.  —  Removal  of  my  Family  to  Mexico.  —  The  War  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  —  Loss  of  my  Father's  Estates. — 
Return  of  the  Family  to  Cuba.  —  My  early  Education. — At  School  in  New 
Orleans.  —  Castles  in  the  Air. —  Romantic  Aspirations.  —  Trying  to  be 
a  Man.  —  Midnight  Promenades  before  the  Mirror  in  Male  Attire. 


A 


HE  woman  in  battle  is  an  infrequent 
figure  on  the  pages  of  history ,  and 
yet,  what7  would  not  history  lose 
were  the  glorious  records  of  the  hero 
ines,  —  the  great-souled  women,  who. 
have  stood  in  the  front  rank  where 
the  battle  was  hottest  and  the  fray 
most  deadly,  —  to  be  obliterated?' 
When  women  have  rushed  to  the 
battle-field  they  have  invariably  dis 
tinguished  themselves ;  and  their 
courage,  their  enthusiasm,  and  their 
devotion  to  the  cause  espoused,  have 
excited  the  brave  among  the  men 
around  them  to  do  and  to  dare  to 
the  utmost,  and  have  shamed  the  cowards  into  believing  that  it 
was  worth  while  to  peril  life  itself  in  a  noble  cause,  and  that 
3  33 


34  THE   NUN-LIEUTENANT. 

honor  to  a  soldier  ought  to  be  more  valuable  than  even  life. 
The  records  of  the  women  who  have  taken  up  arms  in  the 
cause  of  home  and  country  ;  who  have  braved  the  scandals  of 
the  camp  ;  who  have  hazarded  reputation, —  reputation  dearer 
than  life,  —  and  who  have  stood  in  the  imminent  deadly 
breach,  defying  the  enemy,  if  not  so  imposing  in  numbers  as 
those  in  which  the  deeds  of  male  warriors  are  recited,  are 
glorious  nevertheless ;  and  if  steadfast  courage,  true-hearted 
loyalty,  and  fiery  enthusiasm  go  for  anything,  women  have 
nothing  to  blush  for  in  the  martial  deeds  of  those  of  their  sex 
who  have  stood  upon  the  battle-field. 

Far  back  in  the  early  days  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth 
Deborah  rallied  the  despairing  warriors  of  Israel,  and  led  them 
to  victory.  Semiramis,  the  Queen  of  the  Assyrians,  com 
manded  her  armies  in  person.  Tomyris,  the  Scythian  queen, 
after  the  defeat  of  the'  army  under  the  command  of  her  son, 
Spargopises,  took  the  field  in  person,  and  outgeneralling  the 
Persian  king,  Cyrus,  routed  his  vastly  outnumbering  forces 
with  great  slaughter,  the  king  himself  being  among  the  slain. 
Boadicea,  the  British  queen,  resisted  the  Roman  legions  to 
the  last,  and  fought  the  invaders  with  fury  when  not  a  man 
could  be  found  to  lead  the  islanders  to  battle.  Bona  Lom 
bard!,  an  Italian  peasant  girl,  fought  in  male  attire  by  the 
side  of  her  noble  husband,  Brunaro,  on  more  than  one  hotly 
contested  field  ;  and  on  two  occasions,  when  he  had  been  taken 
prisoner  and  placed  in  close  confinement,  she  effected  his  re 
lease  by  her  skill  and  valor. 

THE  NUN- LIEUTENANT. 

Catalina  de  Eranso,  the  Monja  Alferez,  or  the  nun-lieuten 
ant,  who  was  born  in  the  city  of  Sebastian,  Spain,  in  1585,  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  heroines  who  have  distin 
guished  themselves  by  playing  the  masculine  role,  and  ven 
turing  into  positions  of  deadly  peril.  This  woman,  becoming 
disgusted  with  the  monotony  of  convent  life,  made  her  escape, 
and  in  male  garb  joined  one  of  the  numerous  expeditions  then 
fitting  out  for  the  New  World.  Her  intelligence  and  undaunted 
valor  soon  attracted  the  notice  of  her  superior  officers,  and 
she  was  rapidly  promoted.  Participating  in  a  number  of  hard- 
fought  battles,  she  won  the  reputation  of  being  an  unusually 
skilful  and  daring  soldier,  and  would  have  achieved  both  fame 
and  fortune,  were  it  not  that  her  fiery  temper  embroiled  her 


A    HUNGARIAN   HEROINE.  35 

in  frequent  quarrels  with  her  associates.  One  of  her  many 
disagreements  resulted  in  a  duel,  in  which  she  had  the  misfor 
tune  to  kill  her  antagonist,  and,  to  escape  the  vengeance  of 
his  friends,  she  was  compelled  to  fly.  After  traversing  a  large 
portion  of  the  New  World,  and  encountering  innumerable  perils, 
she  returned  to  Europe,  where  she  found  that  the  trumpet  of 
fame  was  already  heralding  her  name,  and  that  there  was  the 
greatest  curiosity  to  see  her.  Travelling  through  Spain  and 
Italy,  she  had  numerous  exceedingly  romantic  adventures; 
and  while  in  the  last  named  country  she  managed  to  obtain  an 
interview  with  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  who  was  so  pleased  with 
her  appearance  and  her  conversation  that  he  granted  her  per 
mission  to  wear  male  attire  during  the  balance  of  her  life. 

Within  the  past  hundred  years  more  than  one  heroine  has 
stamped  her  name  indelibly  upon  the  role  of  fame.  All  Amer- 
cans  know  how  brave  Molly  Pitcher,  at  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth,  busied  herself  in  carrying  water  to  the  parched  and 
wearied  soldiers,  and  how,  when  her  husband  was  shot  down 
at  his  gun,  instead  of,  woman  fashion,  sorrowing  for  him  with 
unavailing  tears,  she  sprang  to  take  his  place,  and  through  the 
long,  hot  summer's  day  fought  the  foreign  emissaries  who  were 
seeking  to  overthrow  the  liberties  of  her  country,  until,  with 
decimated  ranks  they  fled,  defeated  from  the  field. 

At  the  seige  of  Saragossa,  in  1808,  when  Palafbx,  and  the 
men  under  his  command,  despaired  of  being  able  to  resist  the 
French,  Agostino,  "  the  maid  of  Saragossa,"  appeared  upon 
the  scene,  and  with  guerra  al  cuchillo  —  "  war  to  the  knife  "  — 
as  her  battle-cry,  she  inspired  the  general  and  his  soldiers  to 
fight  to  the  last  in  resisting  the  French  invaders,  and  by  her 
words  and  deeds  became  the  leading  spirit  in  one  of  the  most 
heroic  defences  of  history.  * 

APPOLONIA  JAGIELLO. 

Nearer  our  own  time  Appolonia  Jagiello  fought  valiantly 
for  the  liberation  of  Poland  and  Hungary.  She  had  kingly 
blood  in  her  veins,  and  her  heart  burned  within  her  at  the 
wrongs  which  her  native  country,  Poland,  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  her  oppressors.  When  the  insurrection  at  Cracow 
took  place,  in  1846,  she  assumed  male  attire,  and  went  into  the 
thickest  of  the  fight.  The  insurrection  was  a  failure,  although 
it  might  not  have  been  had  the  men  who  began  it  been  as 
stout-hearted  and  as  enthusiastic  in  a  great  cause  as  Appolo- 


36  THE   MAID   OF   ORLEANS. 

nia  Jagiello.  In  1848  she  participated  in  another  outbreak  at 
Cracow,  and  distinguished  herself  as  one  of  the  most  valorous 
pf  the  combatants.  After  the  failure  of  this  attempt  at  re 
bellion  she  went  to  Vienna,  where  she  took  part  in  an  engage 
ment  in  the  faubourg  Widen.  Her  object  in  visiting  the 
Austrian  capital,  however,  was  chiefly  to  ascertain  the  exact 
character  of  the  struggle  which  was  in  progress,  in  order  to 
carry  information  to  the  Hungarians.  After  numerous  per 
ilous  adventures  she  joined  the  Hungarian  forces,  and  fought 
at  the  battle  of  Enerzey,  in  which  the  Austrians  were  de 
feated,  and  on  account  of  the  valor  she  displayed  was  pro 
moted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant.  After  this  she  joined  an 
expedition  under  General  Klapka,  which  assaulted  and  took 
the  city  of  Raab.  When  the  Hungarians  were  finally  defeated 
and  there  was  no  longer  any  hope  that  either  Hungary  or 
Poland  would  gain  their  independence,  Mademoiselle  Jagiello 
came  to  the  United  States,  in  1848,  with  other  refugees,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  resided  in  the  city  of  Washington,  re 
spected  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  No  braver  soldier 
than  this  lady  ever  trod  the  field  of  battle,  while  the  universal 
testimony  of  all  who  were  honored  with  her  acquaintance  is, 
that  she  was  a  most  womanly  woman,  and  was  lacking  in 
nothing  that  makes  true  womanhood  esteemed  by  right-think 
ing  people. 

JOAN  OF  ARC. 

But,  whenever  I  think  of  the  women  who  have  distin 
guished  themselves  in  battle,  my  affections  turn  to  the 
greatest  and  noblest  of  them  all,  and  my  imagination  fires 
with  a  desire  to  emulate  the  glorious  deeds  of  Joan  of  Arc,  the 
Maid  of  Orleans.  A  religious  enthusiast,  as  well  as  a  born 
leader  of  men,  and  a  martial  genius  of  the  first  order,  this  great 
woman  infused,  by  the  power  of  her  matchless  eloquence, 
courage  and  determination  into  the  heart  of  a  weak,  cowardly, 
and  vacillating  king,  and  then,  seizing  the  banner  of  France, 
she  rallied  the  defeated  and  demoralized  armies,  and  led  them 
with  terrible  effect  against  the  British  foe.  At  last,  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  her  enemies,  she  suffered  with  all  the  un 
bending  courage  of  her  heroic  nature,  a  martyrdom  at  the 
stake,  which,  while  it  embalmed  her  memory  in  the  hearts  of 
the  French  people,  covered  with  shame  the  names  of  the 
cowardly  ruffians  who  decreed  her  death  on  a  pretended 
charge,  because  they  were  afraid  to  let  her  live  for  fear  that 


LIEUTENANT  BUFORD  A  WOMAN.  37 

her  existence,  even  as  a  prisoner,  would  be  a  perpetual  men 
ace  to  them,  and  a  perpetual  encouragement  to  the  French 
people  to  fight  to  the  death.  The  statue  of  Joan  of  Arc.  chis 
elled  by  "the  fair  hands  of  a  French  princess,  stands  to-day  in 
the  market-place  at  Rouen  where  she  suffered,  and  the  mem 
ory  of  her  glorious  deeds  as  a  great-hearted  patriot  remains 
to  all  time  as  an  example  of  what  a  woman  may  do  if  she  only 
dares,  and  dares  to  do  greatly. 

From  my  early  childhood  Joan  of  Arc  was  my  favorite 
heroine  ;  and  many  a  time  has  my  soul  burned  with  an  over 
whelming  desire  to  emulate  her  deeds  of  valor,  and  to  make 
for  myself  a  name  which,  like  hers,  would  be  enrolled  in  letters 
of  gold  among  the  women  who  had  the  courage  to  fight  like 
men  —  ay,  better  than  most  men — for  a  great  cause,  for 
friends,  and  for  father-land. 

At  length  an  opportunity  oifered,  in  the  breaking  out  of  the 
conflict  between  the  North  and  the  South  in  1861,  for  me  to 
carry  out  my  long-cherished  ideas ;  and  it  was  embraced 
with  impetuous  eagerness,  combined  with  a  calm  determina 
tion  to  see  the  thing  through,  and  to  shrink  from  nothing  that 
such  a  step  would  involve. 

My  opportunities  and  my  circumstances  were  different  from 
those  of  my  ideal  woman,  Joan  of  Arc,  and  consequently  my 
story  has  but  little  resemblance  to  hers.  I  did  all  that  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  do,  however,  for  the  can^  I  espoused,  and 
the  great  French  heroine  did  no  more.  Happily  I  escaped 
her  dreadful  fate,  and  live  to  relate  the  many  adventures  that 
befell  me  while  playing  the  part  of  a  warrior.  So  many  per 
sons  have  assured  me  that  my  stor}r  —  prosaic  as  much  of  it 
seems  to  me  —  is  full  of  romance,  and  that  it  cannot  fail  to 
interest  readers  both  South  and  North,  that  I  have  been  in 
duced  to  narrate  it  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  wish  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  a  woman  warrior,  and  to  be  entertained, 
and  perhaps  instructed,  by  a  recital  of  her  adventures.  If 
there  are  any  such,  —  and  I  am  sure  there  are,  —  they  will 
find  in  these  pages  an  unaffected  and  unpretending,  but  truth 
ful,  and  I  hope  interesting  narrative  of  what  befell  me  while 
attached  to  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
arid  while  performing  services  other  than  those,  of  a  strictly 
military  character  under  the  pseudonyms  of  Lieutenant  Harry 
T.  Buford. 

Hundreds,  nay  thousands  of  officers  and  men  in  the  Con 
federate  service,  knew  me  well  under  this  name,  and  although 


38  UNPLEASANT  INCIDENTS   OF  CAMP  LIFE. 

my  disguise  was  finally  penetrated,  and  I  was  forced  to  resume 
the  garments  of  my  sex,  it  is  probable  that  a  vast  number 
of  my  late  associates  will  now  for  the  first  time  learn  that  the 
handsome  young  officer  —  I  was  accounted  an  uncommonly 
good-looking  fellow,  when  dressed  in  my  best  uniform,  in 
those  days  —  was  a  woman,  and  a  woman  who  was  mentally 
making  some  very  uncomplimentary  notes  with  regard  to 
much  of  their  very  naughty  conversation.  My  experience 
is,  that  the  language  used  by  the  very  best  men  in  masculine 
society  is  too  often  not  such  as  pure-minded  women  would 
like  to  listen  to,  while  that  of  the  worst  is  so  utterly  revolting, 
that  it  is  a. pity  some  men  cannot  always  have  decent  women 
at  their  elbows  to  keep  their  tongues  from  being  fouled  with 
blasphemy  and  obscenity.  I  hope  that  some  of  my  late 
associates;  when  they  learn  that  the  Lieutenant  Harry  T. 
Buford,  whose  ears  were  so  often  greeted  by  their  profanity 
and  ribaldry,  will  have  enough  self-respect  to  blush  with 
shame  at  having  addressed  the  language  they  did  to  a  woman, 
and  a  modest  woman  at  that. 

What  I  have  just  said  will  give  a  hint  of  some  of  the  most 
unpleasant  incidentals  of  the  role  which  I  undertook  to  play. 
I  was  not  to  be  deterred,  however,  from  carrying  out  my 
plans  by  the  bad  language  I  was  compelled  to  listen  to,  nor  by 
any  other  of  the  disagreeable  features  of  camp  life.  How 
well  I  did  play  jay  part,  happily  does  not  depend  upon  my 
own  testimony  alone,  for  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
officers  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  many  equally  dis 
tinguished  civilians,  can  and  will  testify  to  the  truthfulness 
of  the  story  I  am  about  to  relate,  and  to  the  unblemished 
character  I  bore  while  in  the  Confederate  service^  I  not 
only  assumed  the  garment  of  my  sex  once  more  with  the 
credit  of  having  done  the  state  some  important  services,  and 
of  having  labored  with  efficiency,  courage,  and  energy  to 
secure  the  independence  of  the  Confederacy,  but,  with  my 
womanly  reputation  unblemished  by  even  a  suspicion  of 
impropriety ;  and  I  take  this  occasion  to  say,  in  a  very 
positive  manner,  that  women,  if  they  will,  may  pass  through 
the  most  trying  scenes  with  unblemished  reputations,  and 
that  they  have  much  more  to  dread  in  this  particular  matter 
from  the  scandalous  gossip  of  city,  village,  and  country 
neighborhoods,  than  they  have  from  camp  associations,  with 
all  their  license  of  language  and  conduct. 


FAMILY  MATTERS.  39 

THE  VELAZQUEZ  FAMILY. 

I  have  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  name  I  bear,  and 
of  the  ancestry  from  whom  I  inherited  it.  My  father's 
family  is  a  very  ancient  one,  and  the  blood  which  flows  in  my 
veins  is  that  of  Castilian  nobles,  whose  deeds  are  intimately 
connected  with  some  of  the  most  impressive  episodes  of 
Spanish  history.  Reckless  as  some  portions  of  my  own 
career  may  seem  to  unthinking  persons,  I  have  the  satisfac 
tion  of  knowing,  in  my  own  soul,  that  by  no  act  of  mine  has 
the  noble  name  of  Velazquez  been  brought  into  discredit, 
and  that  at  all  times,  and  under  the  most  discouraging  circum 
stances,  I  have  ever  upheld  my  own  honor  and  that  of  my 
family. 

Both  in  Spain  and  in  the  Spanish  dominions  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  is  the  name  of  Velazquez  well  known  and 
highly  honored.  Don  Diego  Velazquez,  the  conqueror  and 
the  first  governor  of  Cuba,  under  whose  superintendence  the 
expedition  which  discovered  Mexico  was  sent  out,  was  one 
of  my  ancestors,  and  Don  Diego  Rodriguez  Velazquez,  the 
greatest  artist  that  Spain  ever  produced,  was  a  member  of 
my  family.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  I  came  of  excellent, 
although  somewhat  fiery  and  headstrong  stock,  and,  if  in 
assuming  the  garments  of  a  man,  and  endeavoring  to  do  a 
man's  work  on  the  battle-field,  I  transgressed  against  the 
conventionalities  of  modern  society,  the  reader  will,  I  am  sure, 
charitably  attribute  some  of  the  blame  to  the  adventuresome 
blood  of  old  Governor  Don  Diego,  which  I  inherited,  and, 
which  fired  my  brain  and  steeled  my  nerves  when  there  was 
a  prospect  held  out  that,  despite  the  fact  of  my  being  a 
woman,  I  might  be  able  to  enjoy  the  excitements  of  the  battle 
field,  and  win  for  myself  a  warrior's  fame. 

My  father  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  Carthagena,  and  he 
received  a  very  thorough  education  at  the  universities  of 
Madrid  and  Paris.  He  was  an  accomplished  Latin,  French, 
and  German  scholar,  and  spoke  all  these  languages  fluently. 
English  he  paid  but  little  attention  to  until  alter  his  marriage 
with  my  mother.  Like  all  the  members  of  his  family,  he  was 
a  very  strict  Catholic.  Two  of  his  brothers  being  in  the 
Spanish  army,  and  his  tastes  inclining  him 'to  the  life  of  a 
civilian,  a  diplomatic  appointment  was  procured  for  him,  and 
he  went  to  Paris  as  an  attach^  of  the  Spanish  embassy. 

It   was  while   residing   in   Paris  that   my  father   became 


40  COMING  INTO  THE  WORLD. 

acquainted  with  the  lady  whom  he  married,  and  made  the 
mother  of  his  children.  My  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a 
French  naval  officer,  by  an  American  lady,  the  daughter  of  a 
wealthy  merchant.  She,  of  course,  spoke  English  fluently, 
and  tried  to  instruct  my  father  in  it.  He  managed,  in  time, 
to  understand  it  very  well,  but  he  never  spoke  it  without 
some  accent.  My  father's  marriage  occurred  a  short  time 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  and  after  his 
recall  to  Spain  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  city  of  Madrid, 
where  three  sons  and  two  daughters  were  born. 

MY  BIRTH. 

In  1840  my  father  was  appointed  to  an  official  position  in 
Cuba,  and  two  years  later  I,  his  sixth  and  last  child,  came 
into  the  world  in  a  house  on  the  Calle  Velaggas,  near  the  walls 
in  the  city  of  Havana,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1842.  I  was 
christened  Loreta  Janets, 

When  I  was  almost  one  year  old,  my  father  fell  heir  to  a 
large  estate  in  Texas,  which  was  then  a  part  of  the  republic 
of  Mexico.  He  accordingly  resigned  his  position  as  an 
employee  of  the  Spanish  government  in  Cuba,  and  in  1844 
removed  with  his  family  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  in  Central 
Mexico.  His  property  consisted  of  a  very  large  tract  of 
land  and  immense  herds  of  cattle,  and  as  he  was  a  careful 
and  accurate  business  man,  the  probabilities  are,  that  in  a 
short  time  he  would  have  become  one  of  the  wealthiest 
landed  proprietors  of  that  region.  Unfortunately  we  had 
scarcely  been  settled  in  our  new  home  a  twelvemonth,  when 
the  war  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States  broke  out.  I 
was  too  young  at  the  time,  of  course,  to  recollect  anything 
of  this  memorable  contest,  although  it  had  a  potent  influence 
on  my  own  destiny* 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 

My  father,  so  soon  as  war  was  declared,  decided  to  take 
part  in  the  conflict,  and  offered  his  services  to  the  Mexican 
government  to  assist  in  expelling  the  invaders.  His  offer 
was  accepted,  and  he  received  a  commission  as  an  officer  in 
the  army.  Sending  his  family  to  the  Island  of  St.  Lucia,  one 
of  the  British  West  Indian  provinces,  where  my  mother's 
only  brother  resided,  he  took  the  field,  and  fought  until  the 


EDUCATION.  41 

end  of  the  war  against  the  forces  of  the  United  States. 
During  the  conflict  his  estates  were  devastated  and  his 
property  destroyed,  and  this,  combined  with  the  non-success 
of  the  Mexican  arms,  greatly  imbittered  him  against  the 
Americans,  and  this  bitterness  he  retained  till  the  day  of 
his  death. 

When  the  war  was  ended,  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
northern  part  of  Mexico  ceded  to  the  United  States,  my 
father,  whose  estates  were  included  in  this  territory,  refused 
to  live  under  a  government  which  he  disliked  so  intensely, 
and  he  consequently  abandoned  his  property  and  we"nt  to 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  where  he  was  rejoined  by  his  family.  In 
the  mean  time  he  had  fallen  heir  to  another  valuable  estate 
at  Puerto  de  Palmas,  and  settling  upon  it,  he  engaged 
actively  in  the  sugar,  tobacco,  and  coffee  trade.  The  profits 
on  these  articles  being  very  large,  he  speedily  acquired 
great  wealth,  and  was  able  to  surround  his  family  with 
every  luxury. 

While  we  were  residing  on  the  Puerto  de  Palmas  plantation, 
an  English  governess  was  employed  to  conduct  my  education. 
I  remained  under  this  good  lady's  instruction  until  1849, 
learning  the  elementary  branches,  and  acquiring  a  fair  knowl 
edge  of  the  English  language.  In  that  year  my  father,  at  my 
mother's  urgent  solicitation,  determined  to  send  me  to  New* 
Orleans  for  the  purpose  of  completing  my  education.  I 
accordingly  took  up  my  abode  with  Madame  R.,  my  mother's 
only  surviving  sister,  who  resided  in  Rue  Esplanade,  New 
Orleans.  My  aunt  was  rather  strict  with  me,  but  she  took 
much  pains  with  my  education,  and  for  two  years  I  studied 
under  her  supervision,  mainly  devoting  myself  to  acquiring 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  English,  so  as  to  be  able  to  read, 
write,  and  speak  it  with  fluency.  Having  become  reasonably 
proficient  in  such  studies  as  were  assigned  me  by  my  aunt, 
I  was  sent  to  the  school  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
to  learn  the  ornamental  branches.  Here  I  remained  until  the 
romantic  clandestine  marriage,  which  did  so  much  towards 
shaping  my  future  career,  took  place. 

DREAMS  OF  GLORY. 

From  my  earliest  recollections  my  mind  has  been  filled  with 
aspirations,  of  the  most  ardent  possible  kind,  to  fill  some  great 
sphere.  I  expended  all  my  pocket  money,  not  in  candies  and 


42  MASCULINE  ASPIRATIONS. 

cakes,  as  most  girls  are  in  the  habit  of  doing,  but  in  the  pur 
chase  of  books  which  related  the  events  of  the  lives  of  kings, 
princes,  and  soldiers.  The  story  of  the  siege  of  Orleans,  in 
particular,  I  remember,  thrilled  my  young  heart,  fired  my  im 
agination,  and  sent  my  blood  bounding  through  my  veins  with 
excitement.  Joan  of  Arc  became  my  heroine,  and  I  longed  for 
an  opportunity  to  become  such  another  as  she.  I  built  air-cas 
tles  without  number,  and  in  my  day-dreams  I  was  fond  of 
imagining  myself  as  the  hero  of  most  stupendous  adventures. 
I  wished  that  I  was  a  man,  such  a  man  as  Columbus  or  Captain 
Cook,  and  could  discover  new  worlds,  or  explore  unknown 
regions  of  the  earth.  1  could  not  even  write  a  social  letter 
to  my  father  to  inform  him  of  the  state  of  my  health,  or  my 
educational  progress,  without  putting  in  it  some  romantic  pro 
ject  which  I  had  on  hand.  This  propensity  of  mine  evidently 
annoyed  him  greatly,  for  he  frequently  reprimanded  me  with 
much  severity,  although  he  took  no  measures  to  remove  me 
from  influences  which  were  certainly  not  unattended  with 
danger  to  a  girl  of  my  impulsive  and  imaginative  disposition  ; 
so  that  it  is  no  wonder  I  was  soon  engaged  in  a  romantic 
escapade  which  gave  my  family  great  offence  and  anxiety. 

I  was  especially  haunted  with  the  idea  of  being  a  man  ;  and 
the  more  I  thought  upon  the  subject,  the  more  I  was  disposed 
•to  murmur  at  Providence  for  having  created  me  a  woman. 
While  residing  with  my  aunt,  it  was  frequently  my  habit,  after 
all  in  the  house  had  retired  to  bed  at  night,  to  dress  myself 
in  my  cousin's  clothes,  and  to  promenade  by  the  hour  before 
the  mirror,  practising  the  gait  of  a  man,  and  admiring  the 
figure  I  made  in  masculine  raiment.  I  wished  that  I  could 
only  change  places  with  my  brother  Josea.  If  I  could  have 
done  so  I  would  never  have  been  a  doctor,  but  would  have 
marked  out  for  myself  a  military  career,  and  have  disported 
myself  in  the  gay  uniform  of  an  officer. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MARRIAGE. 

My  Betrothal. —  Love  Matches  and  Marriages  of  Convenience.  —  Some 
new  Ideas  picked  up  from  my  Schoolmates.  —  A  new  Lover  appears 
upon  the  Field.  —  I  Figure  as  a  Rival  to  a  Friend.  —  Love's  Young 
Dream.  —  A  new  Way  of  popping  the  Question. — A  Clandestine 
Marriage.  —  Displeasure  of  my  Family.  —  Life  as  the  Wife  of  an 
Army  Officer.  —  The  Mormon  Expedition.  —  Birth  of  my  first  Child, 
and  Reconciliation  with  my  Family.  —  Commencement  of  the  War 
between  the  North  and  South.  —  Death  of  my  Children.  —  Resignation 
of  my  Husband  from  the  Army.  —  My  Determination  to  take  Part  in  the 
coming  Conflict  as  a  Soldier.  —  Opposition  of  my  Husband  to  my 
Schemes. 

OME  time  previous  to  my  admission  to  the 
Sisters'  school,  I  was  betrothed  to  a  young 
Spaniard,  Raphael  R.,  in  accordance  with  plans 
which  my  relatives  had  formed  with  regard 
to  me,  and  without  any  action  on  my  part. 
Indeed,  my  consent  was  not  asked,  my  parents, 
thinking  that  they  were  much  better  qualified  to 
arrange  a  suitable  alliance  than  I  was,  and  that, 
provided  other  things  were  satisfactory,  love  was 
something  of  minor  importance,  that  could  very  well 
be  left  to  take  care  of  itself.  They  were  mistaken, 
however,  as  other  parents  have  been  in  similar  cases,  for, 
like  a  good  many  girls,  as  soon  as  I  was  old  enough  to  do 
much  thinking  for  myself,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  coming  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  choice  of  a  husband  was  something 
I  ought  to  have  a  voice  in. 

I  had  been  educated  under  very  old-fashioned  ideas  with 
regard  to  the  duties  which  children  owe  to  their  parents, 
for,  among  my  father's  country  people,  children,  even  when 
they  have  arrived  at  years  of  discretion,  are  supposed  to  be 
under  the  authority  of  their  father  and  mother,  and  marriages 
for  love,  having  their  origin  in  a  spontaneous  affection  of  young 
people  for  each  other,  are  very  rare.  It  is  the  custom  in  Spain, 

43 


44  BOARDING-SCHOOL   ENLIGHTENMENT. 

and  among  the  Spanish  people  in  America,  for  the  parents  to 
make  what  they  consider  suitable  matches  for  their  children, 
and  the  young  peoplfe  are  expected  to  accept  any  arrange 
ment  that  may  be  concluded  in  their  behalf,  without  mur 
muring. 

This  does  not  seem  to  be  the  proper  way  of  conducting  such 
an  important  piece  of  business  as  marriage,  and  it  is  very 
contrary  to  the  notions  which  are  common  in  the  United 
States.  A  good  deal,  however,  could  be  said  in  favor  of  it, 
and  it  is  certain  that  quite  as  large  a  number  of  marriages 
of  convenience,  such  as  are  usual  in  Europe,  turn  out  happily 
as  of  the  love  matches  which  are  usual  in  the  United  States. 
The  fact  is,  that  the  majority  of  young  people  really  do  not 
know  their  own  minds,  and  they  often  fancy  themselves  in 
love  when  they  are  not.  Marriage  undeceives  them,  and 
then  they  wish  that  they  had  exercised  a  little  more  discre 
tion,  and  had  not  been  in  quite  such  a  hurry.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  a  marriage  of  convenience,  if  the  parties  are  at  all 
suited  to  each  other,  and  are  at  all  disposed  to  make  the  best 
of  the  situation,  they  soon  become  affectionate,  and  love  after 
marriage  is,  perhaps,  in  reality,  the  most  likely  to  be  enduring. 
As  a  general  principle,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
a  couple  ought  to  be  fond  of  each  other  before  marriage,  and 
if  a  young  man  and  young  woman  of  proper  age,  and  with 
the  means  to  start  housekeeping,  fall  in  love,  and  want  to  get 
married,  parents  do  wrong  to  oppose  them  unless  there  are 
some  very  serious  reasons  for  so  doing. 

A  marriage  by  parental  arrangement  was  the  last  thing  in 
the  world  to  suit  a  scatter-brained,  romantic  girl  like  myself, 
whose  head  was  filled  with  all  sorts  of  wild  notions,  and  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  I  rebelled.  When  I 
was  betrothed  to  Raphael,  however,  I  had  not  the  slightest 
notion  of  objecting ;  and  although  I  did  not  feel  a  particle  of 
affection  for  him,  I  accepted  him  for  my  future  husband,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  received  his  visits  with  a  proper  degree 
of  complacency,  if  not  with  any  great  demonstrations  of 
regard. 

I  had  not  been  long  in  the  school,  however,  when,  from  my 
association  with  American  girls,  I  obtained  considerable 
enlightenment  on  a  good  many  subjects  about  which  I  had 
previously  been  profoundly  ignorant ;  and  concerning  this 
matter  of  marriage,  in  particular,  I  learned  that  it  was  not 
considered  the  correct  thing  at  all  for  the  parents  of  a  young 


A  TALE   OP  TRUE  LOVE.         .  45 

lady  to  pick  out  a  husband  for  her.  The  girls,  when  they 
found  that  I  was  betrothed  without  my  own  consent,  were  at 
a  great  deal  of  pains  to  inform  me  that  this  was  a  free 
country,  and  that  one  of  the  chief  blessings  of  living  in  a 
free  country  was,  that  a  girl  could  not  be  compelled  to  marry 
any  particular  man  if  she  did  not  choose  to  do  so. 

This  kind  of  talk  excited  me  very  much,  and  I  began  to 
wish  to  break  my  engagement  with  Raphael,  even  before  a 
rival  stepped  in  to  secure  the  affections  which  belonged  to 
him,  according  to  the  arrangement  my  parents  had  made.  I 
did  not  see  my  way  very  clear,  however,  and  probably  would 
have  married  him  eventually,  had  not  a  more  acceptable  lover 
put  in  an  appearance.  Some  of  the  girls  professed  to  know 
a  good  deal,  about  the  law,  and  insisted  that  if  my  parents 
wished  to  force  me  to  ma-ny  against  my  own  consent,  I  could 
defy  their  authority,  and  appeal  to  the  courts  to  allow  me  to 
choose  a  guardian.  Such  a  course  as  this,  however,  I  knew 
would  sever  me  from  my  family ;  and  as  I  had  the  fondest 
regard  for  my  dear  father  and  mother,  I  dreaded  to  find 
myself  cut  off,  disinherited,  and  thrown  upon  the  charity  of 
strangers.  I  consequently  took  no  steps  to  get  rid  of 
Raphael  until  I  chanced  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  a  young 
American  army  officer  who  was  paying  particular  attention  to 
one  of  my  schoolmates,  Nellie  V. 

• 
A  REAL  LOVER. 

Nellie  was  a  beautiful  girl,  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  a  very  warm  regard  subsisted  between  us  up  to  the  time 
of  her  discovery  that  I  was  endeavoring  to  capture  her  lover. 
Her  affection  for  me  did  not  last  long  after  that,  and  she  said 
a  great  many  disagreeable  things  about  me,  for  which  I  have 
long  since  forgiven  her,  as  I  doubt  not  she  has  me  for  run 
ning  away  with  her  handsome  young  officer. 

He  was  indeed  a  handsome  young  officer,  and  his  manly 
and  graceful  appearance,  especially  when  attired  in  his 
brilliant  uniform,  made  such  an  impression  on  my  heart,  that  I 
soon  could  think  of  nothing  else.  I  found  now  that  love  was  a 
reality,  and  my  thoughts  by  day  and  my  dreams  by  night  had 
no  other  object  than  the  gentleman  who,  while  paying  his 
assiduous  attentions  to  Nellie,  never  imagined  what  ravages 
he  was  making  in  the  heart  of  her  schoolmate.  I  learned 
to  hate  Raphael,  and  his  attempts  to  make  himself  agreeable 


46  LOVE   AND   JEALOUSY. 

to  me  only  served  to  increase  my  dislike.  Of  Nellie  I  soon 
became  savagely  jealous,  and  was  ready  to  cry  with  rage  and 
vexation  whenever  I  saw  her  lover  paying  her  any  delicate 
attentions.  We,  however,  to  all  appearances,  continued  fast 
friends,  and  it  was  not  for  several  months  that  she  discovered 
I  was  her  rival.  The  object  of  my  devotion  was  also  pro 
foundly  ignorant  of  my  feelings  towards  him,  and  I  had  not 
the  courage  to  tell  him.  At  length  I  became  desperate,  and 
determined  at  the  earliest  opportunity  to  acquaint  the  young 
officer  with  the  affection  I  entertained  for  him. 

A  DECLARATION  OF  LOVE. 

The  wished-for  opportunity  finally  offered.  One  evening 
Nellie  and  I  agreed  to  exchange  partners,  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  out  how  much  they  loved  us.  Raphael  did  not  fancy 
this  manoeuvre  a  bit,  but  submitted  to  it  with  as  good  a  grace 
as  possible.  The  officer  and  myself  managed  to  get  out  of 
ear- shot  of  the  other  couple,  but,  now  that  the  opportunity  I 
had  sighed  for  was  mine,  1  was  afraid  to  open  my  mouth  on 
the  subject  nearest  my  heart.  I  trembled  all  over,  but  was 
determined  before  we  separated  to  let  him  know  the  state  of 
my  heart.  Finding  that  I  had  not  courage  to  speak,  I  wrote 
a  few  words  in  his  pocket  diary,  which  told  him  everything. 

He  was  intensely  surprised ;  but  he  declared,  with  much 
warmth,  that  he  had  long  wished  to  speak  with  me  on  this 
very  matter,  and  would  have  done  so,  were  it  not  that  he 
thought  I  was  betrothed,  and  that  under  any  circumstances 
there  would  be  no  chance  for  an  American  to  win  my  affec 
tions.  My  new  lover  behaved  in  the  most  honorable  manner, 
for,  as  soon  as  he  obtained  my  consent  for  him  to  pay  his 
addresses,  he  went  to  my  aunt,  and  asked  permission  to  visit 
at  her  house.  She  granted  his  request,  with  the  condition 
that  he  was  to  understand  that  I  was  betrothed,  and  would 
demean  himself  towards  me  accordingly.  This  condition  he 
listened  to,  but  with  a  determination  to  pay  little  heed  to  it, 
his  main  object  being  accomplished  in  securing  the  right  to 
see  me  without  fear  of  being  interfered  with. 

When  my  lover  began  to  appear  at  my  aunt's  as  a  pretty 
constant  visitor,  Raphael  was  quick  to  suspect  him  as  a  rival, 
who  was  more  highly  appreciated  than  himself,  and  became 
furiously  jealous.  I  cannot  tell  what  torture  I  suffered  in 
endeavoring  to  be  amiable  to  a  man  whom  I  hated,  in  order 


CLANDESTINE   MEETINGS.  47 

that  I  might  prevent  an  explosion  which  would  deprive  me 
of  the  society  of  the  one  I  really  loved  with  the  most  devoted 
fondness.  Finally  Raphael,  unable  to  endure  the  sight  of 
his  rival  constantly  in  attendance  upon  me,  and  evidently 
finding  extreme  favor  in  my  eyes,  prevailed  upon  my  aunt  to 
forbid  him  admittance  to  the  house,  on  the  plea  that  he  was 
becoming  altogether  too  intimate  with  the  betrothed  of 
another.  This  gratified  Raphael's  malignity,  and  it  was  a 
severe  blow  to  both  of  us.  Although  we  could  not  meet  on 
the  same  pleasantly  familiar  terms  as  before,  we  were  resolved 
not  to  be  separated,  for  we  were  now  too  much  in  love  to  be 
willing  to  give  each  other  up.  In  spite  of  my  aunt's  endeav 
ors  to  keep  us  apart,  and  in  spite  of  Raphael's  jealous  vigi 
lance,  William  —  for  that  was  my  lover's  name  —  found  means 
to  carry  on  a  correspondence  with  me,  to  meet  me  at  the 
houses  of  mutual  friends,  and  to  speak  to  me  on  the  street  on 
my  way  to  and  from  school.  Raphael,  who  took  pains  to  have 
us  closely  watched,  informed  my  aunt  of  what  was  going 
on,  and  I  was  accordingly  threatened  with  being  locked  up  in 
a  convent,  or  with  being  sent  back  to  Cuba,  if  I  did  not 
conduct  myself  with  more  propriety.  I  was  horror-stricken 
at  the  idea  of  either  fate,  but  as  I  knew  my  aunt  to  be  a 
very  determined  woman,  who  would  certainly  carry  out  her 
threat  if  I  did  not  take  measures  to  place  it  out  of  her 
power  to  do  so,  I  was  not  long  in  making  up  my  mind 
what  course  to  follow,  and  having  fixed  upon  a  plan  of  action, 
I  only  awaited  a  suitable  opportunity  to  put  it  into  execu 
tion. 

The  opportunity  I  sighed  for  was  not  long  in  offering  itself; 
for  one  evening,  as  I  was  sitting  at  my  window,  in  company 
with  a  young  French  Creole  girl,  I  saw  William  pass  and  look 
up.  I  waved  my  handkerchief  in  salutation,  and  he  recog 
nized  the  signal  by  raising  his  cap.  1  then  asked  the  young 
lady  if  she  would  not  do  me  the  favor  of  taking  a  letter  to 
him,  and  of  permitting  us  to  have  an  interview  at  her  home. 
She  readily  consented ;  and  carrying  a  hastily  written  note  to 
William,  soon  returned  with  an  answer,  to  the  effect  that  he 
would  meet  me  in  an  hour's  time.  My  aunt  did  not  permit 
me  to  go  out  alone  in  the  evening;  but  as  she  suspected 
nothing  wrong  in  the  proposed  visit  to  my  friend's  house,  she 
consented,  without  hesitation,  for  me  to  go  under  the  escort 
of  one  of  the  servants.  As  my  escort,  of  course,  on  our 
arrival  at  the  rendezvous,  remained  with  the  servants  of  the 


48  A  WEDDING. 

i 

house,  I  was  able  to  converse  with  William  without  fear  of 
espial,  or  of  being  interrupted. 

A  EUNAWAY  MATCH. 

My  lover  informed  me  that  he  expected  soon  to  be  ordered 
to  one  of  the  frontier  posts.  He  declared  that  he  could  not 
exist  without  me,  and  proposed  that  we  should  elope,  and  get 
married  privately.  As  this  was  my  own  plan  exactly,  I  gave 
my  consent,  without  any  hesitation,  the  moment  the  proposition 
was  made.  On  a  little  reflection,  however,  my  conscience 
began  to  trouble  me,  for  I  knew  that  I  should  not  be  doing 
right :  so  I  told  him  I  would  prefer  that  he  should  make  an 
open  and  straightforward  proposition  for  my  hand  to  my 
parents.  I  considered  that  it  was  a  duty  I  owed  them  to  ask 
their  consent  first,  but  promised,  if  they  opposed  the  marriage, 
that  I  would  not  let  their  disapprobation  interfere  with  the 
consummation  of  our  wishes.  William  himself  thought  that 
this  was  the  proper  and  honorable  course  to  pursue,  and  he 
accordingly  wrote  to  my  father,  and  asked  his  permission  to 
marry  me.  A  reply  to  his  request  was  not  long  forthcoming, 
in  which  he  was  reprimanded  in  very  harsh  terms  for  daring 
to  make  it,  knowing  me  to  be  the  betrothed  of  another.  This 
settled  the  matter  ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1856, 
we  were  clandestinely  married. 

I  told  no  one  of  the  step  I  had  taken,  and  remained  at  my 
aunt's,  on  the  same  apparent  footing  as  before,  until  the 
following  October,  meeting  William  privately,  when  I  could 
do  so  without  being  observed,  but  taking  more  pains  to 
prevent  our  interviews  from  being  noted  than  I  had  done 
previous  to  our  marriage.  At  length  I  had  a  furious  quarrel 
with  my  aunt  on  account  of  Eaphael.  She  reproached  me  in 
severe  terms  for  my  conduct  towards  him ;  and  I  replied  by 
discarding  him,  and  refusing  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
him.  My  aunt  was  extremely  indignant;  and  finding  me. 
obdurate,  threatened  to  put  me  in  the  convent  at  Baton— 
Rouge.  I  was  terribly  frightened  at  this,  and  concluded  that 
it  was  time  for  me  to  act  with  decision.  I  accordingly 
informed  my  husband  of  the  situation,  and  he  came  immedi 
ately  and  claimed  me  as  his  wrife,  presenting  the  certificate 
of  marriage  to  my  horror-stricken  relative. 

This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  my  aunt,  but  a  greater  one  to 
my  parents,  especially  to  my  father,  who  idolized  me.  My 


RECONCILIATION.  49 

father's  indignation  got  the  better  of  his  affection,  and  he 
promptly  informed  me  that  I  might  consider  myself  as  repudia 
ted  and  disinherited.  The  pangs  this  cruel  message  caused 
me  were  intense,  but  I  was  consoled  with  the  lavish  affection 
bestowed  upon  me  by  my  handsome  young  husband,  and  with 
the  thought  that,  in  course  of  time,  my  parents  would  relent, 
and  be  willing  to  again  receive  me  as  their  daughter. 

With  the  exception  of  my  estrangement  from  my  family, 
there  was  but  one  thing  that  interfered  with  my  happiness. 
My  husband  was  a  Protestant,  and  desired  me  to  believe  as  he 
did.  It  required  a  hard  struggle  for  me  to  forsake  the  faith 
in  which  I  had  been  educated ;  but  eventually  I  learned  to 
think  as  my  husband  did  about  religious  matters,  and  be 
came  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 

My  separation  from  my  family  caused  me  much  grief,  but  I 
tried  hard  not  to  let  my  husband  see  how  much  I  suffered.  I 
entered  as  far  as  possible  into  his  thoughts  and  wishes,  and 
only  gratified  a  natural  taste  by  giving  a  large  portion  of  my 
time  to  the  study  of  military  tactics.  I  longed  for  a  war  to 
break  out,  and  resolved  that  if  one  did  occur,  I  would  follow 
my  husband  to  the  battle-field,  and  minister  to  him,  even  if  I 
was  not  allowed  to  fight  by  his  side. 

THE  MORMON  EXPEDITION. 

In  1857  there  appeared  to  be  a  chance  that  my  martial 
aspiration  would  be  gratified.  The  government  organized  an 
expedition  against  the  Mormons,  and  my  husband  was  ordered 
to  accompany  it.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  I  had  become  a 
mother ;  and  much  as  I  desired  to  accompany  the  army  to 
Utah,  I  was  forced  to  acknowledge  the  impracticability  of  a 
journey  across  the  plains  with  an  infant  in  my  arms,  and  was 
compelled  to  submit  to  remaining  behind. 

When  my  baby  came  into  the  world  I  yearned  more  than 
ever  to  be  reconciled  with  my  family,  and,  with  my  husband's 
consent,  wrote  to  my  mother  and  to  my  favorite  brother,  who, 
but  a  few  months  before,  had  graduated  with  distinction  from 
the  College  de  France.  This  brother  had  long  since  forgiven 
me,  and,  in  confederation  with  my  mother,  had  labored  to 
soften  the  heart  of  my  father  towards  me.  On  the  receipt 
of  the  letter  announcing  the  birth  of  my  child,  and  my  earnest 
desire  to  be  forgiven  for  my  fault,  they  worked  so  successfully 
on  the  feelings  of  my  father,  that,  after  a  somewhat  stubborn 
4 


50  SECESSION  TIMES. 

resistance,  he  yielded,  and  consented  to  have  my  mother  and 
brother  visit  me  in  St.  Louis.  My  brother,  after  becoming 
acquainted  with  my  husband,  esteemed  him  highly,  and  finally 
the  bad  feeling  which  had  been  caused  by  my  clandestine 
marriage  wore  away,  my  father  alone  treating*  me  with  a 
coolness  which  he  ha*d  never  previously  shown.  When  I  met 
him  for  the  first  time  after  my  marriage,  he  turned  his  cheek 
to  me,  saying,  "  You  can  never  impress  a  kiss  on  my  lips  after 
a  union  with  my  country's  enemy,"  —  from  which  I  concluded 
that  it  was  not  so  much  my  marriage  without  his  consent,  as 
my  alliance  with  an  American  soldier  that  imbittered  him. 

After  the  Mormon  expedition  had  returned,  my  husband 
met  me  at  New  Orleans,  and  from  thence  took  me  to  Fort 
Leavenworth,  then  a  remote  frontier  town.  The  living 
accommodations  at  this  place  were  miserable,  and  the  cooking, 
especially,  was  atrociously  bad.  I  bore  every  discomfort, 
however,  without  a  murmur,  out  of  deference  to  my  husband's 
feelings,  and  in  every  way  endeavored  to  make  myself  as 
little  of  a  burden  to  him  as  possible.  In  course  of  time  I 
became  a  good  American  in  thought  and  manner,  and  despite 
the  inconveniences  of  life  at  a  frontier  post,  was  as  happy  as 
I  could  wish  to  be. 

In  the  spring  of  1860  I  returned  to  St.  Louis,  while  my 
husband  went  to  Fort  Arbuckle.  During  his  separation  from 
me,  our  third  babe  was  born  and  died.  In  October  of  the 
same  year  he  returned,  having  received  a  summons  from  his 
father  —  a  resident  of  Texas  —  to  the  effect  that  there  was 
reason  to  believe  a  war  was  about  to  break  out  between  the 
North  and  the  South,  and  desiring  him  to  resign. 

About  this  time  my  two  remaining  children  died  of  fever, 
and  my  grief  at  their  lo&s  probably  had  a  great  influence  in 
reviving  my  old  notions  about  military  glory,  and  of  excit 
ing  anew  my  desires  to  win  fame  on  the  battle-field.  I 
was  dreadfully  afraid  that  there  would  be  no  war,  and  my 
spirits  rose  and  sank  as  the  prospects  of  a  conflict  brightened 
or  faded.  When  my  husband's  State  determined  to  secede,  I 
brought  all  my  influence  to  bear  to  induce  him  to  resign  his 
commission  in  the  United  States  army,  and  rny  persuasions, 
added  to  those  of  his  father,  finally,  induced  him,  very 
reluctantly,  to  yield.  It  was  a  great  grief  for  him  to  forsake 
the  uniform  he  had  worn  so  long  with  honor,  and  to  sever  the 
bonds  which  existed  between  him  and  his  comrades.  He 
much  doubted,  too,  the  wisdom  of  the  Southern  States  in 


MARTIAL  ASPIRATIONS.  51 

taking  the  action  they  did,  and  wished  most  sincerely  that 
the  political  difficulties  which  caused  their  secession  could  be 
settled  in  some  other  manner  than  by  an  armed  conflict. 

As  for  me,  I  was  perfectly  wild  on  the  subject  of  war ;  and 
although  I  did  not  tell  my  husband  so,  I  was  resolved  to 
forsake  him  if  he  raised  his  sword  against  the  South.  I  felt 
that  now  the  great  opportunity  of  my  life  had  arrived,  and 
my  mind  was  busy  night  and  day  in  planning  schemes  for 
making  my  name  famous  above  that  of  any  of  the  great 
heroines  of  history,  not  even  excepting  my  favorite,  Joan  of 
Arc.  Having  decided  to  enter  the  Confederate  service  as  a 
soldier,  I  desired,  if  possible,  to  obtain  my  husband's  consent, 
but  he  would  not  listen  to  anything  I  had  to  say  on  the 
subject ;  and  all  I  could  do  was  to  wait  his  departure  for  the 
seat  of  war,  in  order  to  put  my  plans  into  execution  with 
out  his  knowledge,  as  I  felt  that  it  would  be  useless  to 
argue  with  him,  although  I  was  obstinately  bent  upon  realizing 
the  dream  of  my  life,  whether  he  approved  of  my  course 
or  not. 


CHAPTER  III. 


ASSUMING   MALE   ATTIRE. 

A  Wedding  Anniversary.  —  Preparing  for  my  Husband's  Departure  for 
the  Seat  of  War.  —  My  Desire  to  accompany  him.  —  His  Arguments 
to  dissuade  me.  —  My  First  Appearance  in  Public  in  Male  Attire.  —  A 
Bar-room  Scene. —  Drinking  Success  to  the  Confederacy.  —  My  First 
Cigar.  —  A  Tour  of  the  Gambling-Houses  and  Drinking-Saloons.  —  The 
unpleasant  Points  of  Camp  Life  set  forth  in  strong  Colors.  —  Depar 
ture  of  .my  Husband. —  Donning  Male  Attire.  —  My  First  Suit  of  Male 
Clothing.  —  Description  of  my  Disguise. —  The  Practicability  of  a  Wo 
man  disguising  herself  effectively.  —  Some  of  the  Features  of  Army 
Life.  —  What  Men  think  of  Women  Soldiers. 

HE  fifth  anniversary  of  our  wedding 
was  celebrated  in  a  very  quiet  fash 
ion  at  the  old  Commercial  Hotel, 
Memphis,  Tennessee.  We  passed 
the  day  pretty  much  in  our  own 
room,  packing  trunks  and  preparing 
•  for  my  husband's  departure  for 
Richmond,  where  he  expected  to 
meet  some  of  his  old  army  friends, 
such  as  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 
General  Reynolds,  Captain  Bernard 
Bee,  and  Captain  Cabell,  who  had 
linked  their  fortunes  with  those  of 
the  South.  His  hardest  struggle 
had  been  to  throw  off  the  uniform 
he  had  so  long  worn ;  but,  that  deed  having  once  been  con 
summated,  it  was  not  difficult  for  me  to  persuade  him  to  offer 
his  sword  to  the  South,  especially  when  so  many  of  his  old 
friends  of  the  United  States  army  were  arraying  themselves  in 
antagonism  to  the  flag  under  which  they  had  once  fought. 

While  preparing  for  his  departure,  on  the  anniversary  of 
our  wedding,  we  talked  over  the  whole  situation  ;  and  I  can 
not  tell  how  proud  and  delighted  I  felt  when  he  attired  him 
self  in  his  elegant  new  gray  uniform.  He  never  looked  hand- 

52 


AN  EXPERIMENT.  53 

somer  in  his  life,  and  I  not  only  gave  full  vent  to  my  admira 
tion,  but  insisted  upon  broaching  my  favorite  scheme  again. 
My  husband  desired  me  to  go  to  Galveston,  and  to  write 
to  my  father  to  meet  me  there ;  but  niy  heart  was  set 
upon  accompanying  him  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  I  would  listen 
to  no  other  arrangement.  He  used  every  possible  argument 
to  dissuade  me  from  my  purpose,  representing  the  difficulties 
and  dangers  in  the  .darkest  colors,  and  contending  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him-  to  permit  his  wife  to  follow  an 
undisciplined  army  of  volunteers.  The  situation,  he  told  me, 
was  entirely  different  from  anything  I  had  ever  been  accus 
tomed  to,  and  that  the  hordes  of  rude,  coarse  men  collected 
together  in  a  camp  in  an  emergency  like  this,  would  have  but 
little  resemblance  to  the  regular  troops  in  garrison  with  whom 
I  had  been  familiar ;  and  that  a  delicately  nurtured  and  re 
fined  woman  would  find  camp  life,  during  such  a  war  as  that 
just  commencing,  simply  intolerable.  He  was  not  to  be  per 
suaded,  while  I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  his  remonstrances, 
and  persisted  in  arguing  the  point  with  him  to  the  last. 

FIRST  ASSUMPTION  OF  MALE  ATTIRE. 

Finally,  my  husband,  finding  that  his  words  made  no  im 
pression,  thought  he  would  be  able  to  cure  me  of  my  erratic 
fancies  by  giving  me  an  insight  into  some  of  the  least  pleasing 
features  of  masculine  life.  The  night  before  his  departure, 
therefore,  he  permitted  rne  to  dress  myself  in  one  of  his  suits, 
and  said  he  would  take  me  to  the  bar-rooms  and  other  places 
of  male  resort,  and  show  me  something  of  what  I  would  be 
compelled  to  go  through  with  if  I  persisted  in  unsexing  my 
self.  Braiding  my  hair  very  close,  I  put  on  a  man's  wigr  and! 
a  false  mustache,  and  by  tucking  my  pantaloons  in  my  boots,, 
as  I  had  seen  men  do  frequently,  and  otherwise  arranging  the- 
garments,  which  were  somewhat  large  for  me,  I  managed  to- 
transform  myself  into  a  very  presentable  man.  As  I  surveyed! 
myself  in  the  mirror  I  was  immensely  pleased  with  the  figure 
I  cut,  and  fancied  that  I  made  quite  as  good  looking  a  man  as 
my  husband.  My  toilet  once  completed,  it  was  not  long  be 
fore  we  were  in  the  street,  I  doing  my  best  to  walk  with  a 
masculine  gait,  and  to  behave  as  if  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
wear  pantaloons  all  my  life.  I  confess,  that  when  it  actually 
came  to  the  point  of  appearing  in  public  in  this  sort  of  attire,, 
my  heart  began  to  fail  me  a  little  ;  but  I  was  bent  on  going 


54  BAR-ROOM   BELLIGERENCY. 

through  with  the  thing,  and  so,  plucking  up  courage,  I  strode 
along  by  the  side  of  my  husband  with  as  unconcerned  an  air 
as  it  was  possible  for  me  to  put  on. 

Presently  we  crpssed  over  to  a  bar-room,  which  we  found 
nearly  filled  with  men  smoking  and  drinking,  and  doing  some 
pretty  tali  talking  about  the  war,  and  the  style  in  which  the 
Yankees  were  going  to  be  wiped  out.  To  judge  by  the  con 
versation,  every  man  present  was  full  of  fight,  and  was  burn 
ing  with  a  furious  desire  to  meet  the  enemy.  I  was  too 
frightened  and  bewildered  by  the  novelty  of  my  situtation  to 
pay  very  close  attention  to  all  I  saw  and  heard,  but  it  flashed 
upon  me  that  some  of  these  loud- talking,  hard-drinking,  and 
blaspheming  patriots  were  not  so  valiant,  after  all,  as  they 
professed  to  be.  My  after  experiences  fully  confirmed  my 
first  impressions,  that  the  biggest  talkers  are  not  always  the 
best  fighters,  and  that  a  good  many  men  will  say  things  over 
a  glass  of  whiskey  in  a  bar-room,  who  won't  do  a  tenth  part 
of  what  they  say  if  they  are  once  placed  within  smelling  dis 
tance  of  gunpowder. 

I  had  scarcely  time  to  take  a  good  look  at  the  room  and  its 
occupants,  when  my  husband  caught  sight  of  a  couple  of  men 
who  had  belonged  to  his  regiment,  and  who  were  very  partic 
ular  friends  of  mine.  I  was  dreadfully  afraid  they  would 
recognize  me,  but  there  was  no  escaping  from  them,  as  they 
came  up  so  soon  as  they  saw  us,  and  I  was  introduced  as  a 
young  fellow  who  was  on  a  visit  to  Memphis  to  see  the  sights 
and  to  pick  up  war  news. 

TREATING. 

My  husband  treated,  he  and  his  two  comrades  taking  some 
thing  strong,  while  I,  in  accordance  with  the*  instructions 
given  me  before  starting  out,  called  for  a  glass  of  cider,  only 
a  part  of  which  I  imbibed.  After  a  little  conversation,  my 
husband  whispered  to  me  to  call  for  the  next  treat.  I  was 
getting  to  be  somewhat  disgusted  with  the  whole  business, 
but  was  bound  not  to  break  down  ;  so,  stepping  up  to  the  bar, 
I  invited  the  party,  with  as  masculine  a  manner  as  I  could  put 
on,  to  drink  with  me.  This  time  I  took  a  glass  of  sarsaparilla, 
and  when  all  had  their  drinks  poured  out,  raising  my  tumbler, 
-I  cried  out,  "  Gentlemen,  here's  to  the  success  of  our  young 
.Confederacy." 

As  I  said  this,  my  heart  was  almost  ready  to  jump  out  of 


WHAT   MEN    ARE   LIKE.  55 

my  throat.  The  men,  however,  gave  a  rousing  cheer,  and 
one  of  them  yelled  out,  "  We  drink  that  toast  every  time, 
young  fellow.''  . 

He  then  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  as  if  about  to  get  his 
money  to  pay  for  the  drinks,  but  I  prevented  him,  saying, 
"  Excuse  me,  sir,  this  is  my  treat,"  and  laid  a  twenty  dollar 
gold  piece  on  the  counter.  Each  of  us  then  took  a  cigar,  I 
watching  to  see  how  they  managed  theirs  before  daring  to 
put  mine  in  my  mouth.  After  I  had  gotten  a  light,  I  was  not 
able  to  take  more  than  three  or  four  whiffs,  for  my  head  began 
to  swim,  and  I  knew  if  I  kept  on  I  should  soon  be  'deathly 
sick.  As  it  was,  I  did  not  feel  at  all  comfortable,  but 
thought  I  could  bear  up,  and  said  nothing  for  fear  of  being 
laughed  at. 

I  was  very  glad  to  get  out  of  the  bar-room,  and  into  the 
fresh  air  again ;  so,  bidding  our  friends  good  night,  Ave  started 
off,  I  throwing  my  cigar  away  at  the  first  opportunity  I  had 
of  doing  so  without  being  observed.  Eager  to  hear  my  hus 
band's  opinion,  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  think  I  played  my 
part  pretty  well.  He  replied,  "  O,  yes  ;  "  but  I  could  see  that 
he  was  very  much  dissatisfied  with  the  whole  performance. 
Before  returning  to  the  hotel  we  made  a  general  tour  of  the 
city,  visiting  all  the  principal  gambling-houses  and  saloons, 
my  husband  evidently  hoping  I  should  be  so  shocked  with 
what  I  saw  and  heard  that  I  should  be  ready  to  give  up  my 
wild  scheme  without  farther  talk  about  it. 

When  we  were  once  more  in  our  room  he  locked  the  door, 
and,  throwing  himself  on  the  lounge,  said,  "  Well,  don't  you 
feel  pretty  much  disgusted  ?  " 

To  please  him  I  said,  "  Yes  ;  "  adding,  however,  "  but  then  I 
can  stand  anything  to  be  with  you,  and  to  serve  the  sunny 
South." 

"  Now,  Loreta,"  said  he,  "  I  have  done  this  to-night  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  you  what  men  are  like,  and  how  they  be 
have  themselves  when  they  are  out  of  the  sight  and  hearing 
of  decent  women,  whom  they  are  forced  to  respect.  What 
you  have  seen  and  heard,  however,  is  nothing  to  what  you 
will  be  compelled  to  see  and  hear  in  camp,  where  men  are 
entirely  deprived  of  female  society,  and  are  under  the  most 
demoralizing  influences.  The  language  that  will  constantly 
greet  your  ears,  and  the  sights  that  will  meet  your  eye  in 
camp,  where  thousands  of  men  are  congregated,  are  simply 
indescribable  ;  and  it  is  out  of  all  reason  that  you  should  even 


56  FAREWELL   KISSES. 

think  of  associating  in  the  manner  you  propose  with  soldiers 
engaged  in  warfare." 

This,  with  a  good  deal  of  the  same  kind  of  talk,  convinced 
me  that  he  would  never  give  his  consent  to  my  project ;  so  I 
pretended  to  be  satisfied  with  his  arguments,  but  was,  never 
theless,  resolved  more  firmly  than  ever,  so  soon  as  he  took 
his  departure,  to  put  my  plans  into  execution.  I  waited  im 
patiently  for  him  to  leave,  intending  to  give  him  a  genuine 
surprise  when  next  we  met,  and  to  show  him  that  his  wife 
was  as  good  a  soldier  as  he,  and  was  bent  upon  doing  as  much 
or  more  for  the  cause  which  both  had  at  heart.  For  the  pres 
ent,  however,  I  said  nothing  concerning  my  intentions. 

MY  HUSBAND'S  DEPARTURE. 

On  the  8th  of  April  my  husband  started  for  Richmond,  ap 
parently  under  the  impression  that,  as  I  had  said  nothing  for 
several  days  about  accompanying  him,  I  had  abandoned  all 
notion  of  doing  so.  He  ought  to  have  known  me  better,  and 
to  have  been  assured  that  a  woman  of  my  obstinate  temper 
was  not  to  be  prevented  by  mere  argument  from  carrying  out 
a  pet  scheme  which  promised  such  glorious  results  as  the  one 
we  had  been  discussing. 

My  husband's  farewell  kisses  were  scarcely  dry  upon  my 
lips,  when  I  made  haste  to  attire  myself  in  one  of  his  suits,  and 
to  otherwise  disguise  myself  as  a  man,  as  well  as  was  practi 
cable  with  such  material  as  I  had  at  hand.  The  first  thing  to 
be  done  before  I  made  any  attempt  to  play  a  masculine  role 
at  all  prominently  in  public  was,  of  course,  to  get  some 
properly  fitting  clothing.  Exactly  how  to  accomplish  this 
without  being  discovered,  or  at  least  suspected,  was  the  great 
problem  now  before  me.  Everything  depended,  I  well-knew, 
upon  starting  right ;  and  the  slightest  suspicion  at  this  time, 
in  the  mind  of  any  one  who  happened  to  see  or  speak  to  me, 
might,  and  probably  would,  interfere  materially  with  the  suc 
cess  of  my  operations  in  the  future.  I  had,  however,  some 
time  before  taken  notice  of  a  small  tailor's  shop  on  a  retired 
street  not  very  far  from  the  hotel,  the  presiding  genius  of 
which  was  a  not  very  brilliant-looking  German,  and  I  thought 
perhaps  I  might  run  the  gantlet  of  his  scrutiny  without- 
much  fear  of  detection,  especially  as  I  proposed  to  leave 
Memphis  at  as  early  a  day  as  possible  after  obtaining  my  male 
raiment. 


A   VISIT   TO   A   TAILOR.  57 

I  accordingly  went  to  this  German  tailor,  and  ordered  two 
uniform  suits,  for  which  I  agreed  to  pay  him  eighty-five  dollars 
each.  As  he  took  my  measure  he  eyed  me  pretty  close,  and 
seemed  to  imagine  that  something  was  not  quite  right.  I  was 
dreadfully  afraid  he  would  discover  me  to  be  a  woman,  but 
resolved,  if  he  did,  that  I  would  endeavor  to  silence  him  with 
a  handsome  bribe  for  a  few  days,  until  he  got  my  suits  done 
and  I  could  leave  the  city,  trusting  to  be  able  to  disguise  my 
self  thereafter  so  effectually  that  he  would  not  recognize  me 
again,  even  if  he  saw  me. 

"  Ah,"  said  the  tailor,  looking  at  me  rather  sharply,  "  what 
you  want  to  go  to  war  for  ?  You  is  too  young  for  the  fightin'  j 
isn't  you  ?  What  your  mammy  say  to  that,  eh  ?  " 

I  replied,  with  as  careless  an  air  as  I  could  possibly  assume, 
that  I  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  was  a  graduate  of 
West  Point,  following  up  this  information  with  other  fictitious 
statements  which  it  somewhat  staggered  me  to  utter,  and 
which,  if  he  had  been  a  trifle  sharper,  he  would  have  had  some 
difficulty  in  crediting. 

He,  however,  was  satisfied,  or  appeared  to  be,  and  promised 
to  have  the  clothing  ready  in  two  days.  I  was  afraid  to  tell 
him  to  pad  the  coat  all  around  in  such  a  manner  as  to  conceal 
my  feminine  shape  ;  this  I  was  compelled  to  do  myself  after  I 
got  possession  of  the  clothing.  With  a  little  alteration,  how 
ever,  the  coats  and  pantaloons  made  by  the  German  tailor  at 
Memphis  answered  my  immediate  purpose,  and  enabled  me  to 
get  under  way  with  my  grand  scheme,  but  my  disguise  was 
really  not  perfected  until  I  reached  New  Orleans,  and  was  able 
to  command  facilities  greater  than  Memphis  afforded. 

MY  DISGUISE. 

As  this  seems  to  be  a  very  proper  point  in  my  narrative  for 
a  description  of  the  means  adopted  for  the  concealment  of  my 
sex,  while  I  was  doing  duty  in  the  Confederate  army  as  an 
officer,  I  will  gratify  the  curiosity  of  the  reader  in  that  matter 
before  proceeding  any  farther  with  the  story  of  my  adven 
tures. 

My  coats  were  heavily  padded  in  the  back  and  under  the 
arms  to  the  hips,  until  I  reached  New  Orleans.  This  served 
to  disguise  my  shape  ;  but  the  padding  was  very  uncomforta 
ble,  and  I  soon  made  up  my  mind  that  it  would  never  do  for  a 
permanent  arrangement.  So  soon  as  I  got  to  New  Orleans,  I 


58  HOW   THE   DISGUISE   WAS   ARRANGED. 

went  to  an  old  French  array  tailor  in  Barrack  Street,  who  I 
knew  was  very  skilful,  and  who  understood  how  to  mind  his 
own  business  by  not  bothering  himself  too  much  about  other 
people's  affairs,  and  had  him  make  for  me  half  a  dozen  fine 
wire  net  shields.  These  I  wore  next  to  my  skin,  and  they 
proved  very  satisfactory  in  concealing  my  true  form,  and  in 
giving  me  something  of  the  shape  of  a  man,  while  they  were 
by  no  means  uncomfortable.  Over  the  shields  I  w.ore  an  under 
shirt  of  silk  or  lisle  thread,  which  fitted  close,  and  which  was 
held  in  place  by  straps  across  the  chest  and  shoulders,  similar  to 
the  shoulder-braces  sometimes  worn  by  men.  A  great  many 
officers  in  the  Confederate  army  have  seen  the  impressions  of 
these  straps  through  my  shirt  when  I  have  had  my  coat  off, 
and  have  supposed  them  to  be  shoulder-braces.  These  under 
shirts  could  be  rolled  up  into  the  small  compass  of  a  collar- 
box.  Around  the  waist  of  each  of  the  undershirts  was  a 
band,  with  eyelet-holes  arranged  for  the  purpose  of  making 
the  waistbands  of  my  pantaloons  stand  out  to  the  proper  num 
ber  of  inches.  A  woman's  waist,  as  a  general  thing,  is  ta 
pering,  and  her  hips  very  large  in  comparison  with  those  of  a 
man,  so  that  if  I  had  undertaken  to  wear  pantaloons  without 
some  such  contrivance,  they  would  have  drawn  in  at  the  waist 
and  revealed  my  true  form.  With  such  underwear  as  I  used, 
any  woman  who  can  disguise  her  features  can  readily  pass  for 
a  man,  and  deceive  the  closest  observers.  So  many  men  have 
weak  and  feminine  voices  that,  provided  the  clothing  is  prop 
erly  constructed  and  put  on  right,  and  the  disguise  in  other 
respects  is  well  arranged,  a  woman  with  even  a  very  high- 
pitched  voice  need  have  very  little  to  fear  on  that  score.  One 
of  the  princpal  causes  of  my  detection,  after  having  success 
fully  passed  myself  off  as  a  man  to  thousands  of  keen-eyed 
observers,  under  circumstances  where  everything  was  against 
the  concealment  of  my  sex,  was,  that  my  apparatus  got  out  of 
order,  so  that  I  was  forced  to  dispense  with  it.  I  was  to  blame, 
too,  for  permitting  myself  to  grow  careless,  and  not  always 
being  on  my  guard. 

There  were  several  points  about  my  disguise  which  were 
strictly  my  own  invention,  and  which,  for  certain  good  and 
sufficient  reasons,  I  do  not  care  to  give  to  the  public.  These 
added  greatly  to  its  efficiency.  Indeed,  after  I  had  once  be 
come  accustomed  to  male  attire,  and  to  appearing  before  any 
body  and  everybody  in  it,  I  lost  all  fear  of  being  found  out, 
and  learned  to  act,  talk,  and  almost  to  think  as  a  man.  Many 


fib 


A  WARNING  TO  WEAK  WOMEN.  59 

a  time,  when  in  camp,  I  have  gone  to  sleep  when  from  fifty  to 
sixty  officers  have  been  lying  close  together  wrapped  in  their 
blankets,  and  have  had  no  more  fear  of  detection  than  I  had 
of  drinking  a  glass  of  water. 

CAMP  LIFE. 

The  style  of  conversation  that  was  common  in  camp,  and  the 
kind  of  stories  told  around  our  fires  at  night,  I  will  leave  to 
the  reader's  imagination,  hoping,  however,  that  he  or  she  has 
not  imagination  enough  to  compass  anything  so  utterly  vile. 
My  favorite  amusement  was  a  game  of  cards,  and  I  preferred 
this  way  of  entertaining  myself,  and  of  beguiling  the  weary 
hours,  to  listening  to  anecdotes  which  could  only  debase  my 
mind.  Anything  relating  to  military  affairs,  to  social  science, 
to  the  deeds  of  great  men  or  women,  or  whatever  else  I  could 
improve  myself  by  listening  to,  I  took  great  delight  in.  From 
my  earliest  recollection,  however,  I  have  had  a  thorough  dis 
taste  for  vulgarity  of  language  and  profanity,  and  my  camp 
experiences  only  tended  to  increase  my  disgust  at  the  black 
guardism  which  many  men  are  so  fond  of  indulging  in.  The 
manner  in  which  too  many  men  are  in  the  habit  of 'referring 
to  the  other  sex  in  .conversation  among  themselves  is,  in  my 
opinion,  thoroughly  despicable  ;  and  I  really  think  that  it 
would  be  morally  and  intellectually  beneficial  to  many  of  my 
sex,  especially  those  who  are  the  victims  of  masculine  vicious- 
ness,  if  they  could  only  listen  to  some  such  conversations  as  I 
have  been  compelled  to  listen  to,  and  learn  how  little  respect 
or  real  regard  of  any  kind  men  have  for  them. 

I  would  that  God  would  put  it  into  my  power  to  utter  such 
a  warning  as  would  be  heeded,  to  the  weak  and  erring  of  my 
sex,  and  which  would  enable  them  to- fortify  themselves  against 
the  temptations  constantly  assailing  them.  But  I  suppose  no 
warning  would  prevent  those  who  are  disposed  to  sin  from 
doing  so,'although  I  well  know  that  women,  and  men  too,  can 
resist  temptation,  and  can  avoid  vileness  in  living  and  in  lan 
guage  if  they  will  only  choose  to  do  so.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
say  that  I  am  possessed  of  firmer  nerves,  or  am  less  under  the 
influence  of  the  natural  emotions  of  my  sex,  than  many  others  ; 
but  my  strong  constitution,  and  the  perfect  health  I  enjoyed, 
enabled  me  to  endure  more  fatigue  and  hardship  than  most 
women,  while  my  firm-mindedness,  and  resolute  determination 
to  carry  my  point,  enabled  me  to  avoid  anything  like  laxity 


60  A  QUESTION  OF  PROPRIETY. 

of  conduct.  I  was  compelled  to  sink  my  sex  entirely,  for  the 
least  inadvertence  would  have  thwarted  my  plans,  and  pre 
vented  the  realization  of  all  I  aimed  at. 

Many  end  many  a  time  has  the  subject  of  women  serving  in 
the  army  \  soldiers  been  discussed  at  the  mess-tables  and 
around  the  camp-fires  ;  and  officers,  who  have  been  in  my 
company  for  days,  and  weeks,  and  months,  have  boasted,  with 
very  masculine  positiveness,  that  no  woman  could  deceive 
them,  little  suspecting  that  one  was  even  then  listening  to 
them.  I  have  sometimes  been  asked  my  opinion  on  the  sub 
ject  ;  but  have  generally  answered  evasively,  without  express 
ing,  in  very  decided  terms,  my  ideas  one  way  or  the  other. 
Some  of  the  men  with  whom  I  have  been  associated  have 
spoken  in  respectful  and  even  commendatory  terms  concerning 
women  serving  as  soldiers ;  but  too  many  have  had  nothing 
but  vileness  to  utter  on  the  subject.  I  can  never  forget,  al 
though  I  may  forgive,  the  disgraceful  language  which  some 
of  these  individuals  have  used  with  regard  to  this  matter ; 
and  my  experiences  in  the  army  will  not  have  been  in  vain, 
even  if  they  have  taught  me  nothing  more  .than  the  utter  con- 
temptibleness  of  some  individuals,  whom  it  would  be  a  stretch 
of  courtesy  to  call  gentlemen. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


DISGUISED   AS  A   CONFEDERATE   OFFICER. 

Preparing  a  military  Outfit.  —  Consultations  with  a  Friend.  —  Argument 
against  my  proposed  Plan  of  Action.  —  Assuming  the  Uniform  of  a 
Confederate  Officer.  —  A  Scene  in  a  Barber's  Shop.  —  How  young  Men 
try  to  make  their  Beards  grow.  —  Taking  a  social  Drink.  —  A  Game 
of  Billiards.  —  In  a  Faro  Bank.  —  Some  War  Talk.  —  Drinks  all 
around.  —  The  End  of  an  exciting  Day.  —  Making  up  a  Complexion.  — 
A  false  Mustache.  —  Final  Preparations.  —  Letters  from  Husband  and 
Father.  —  Ready  to  start  for  the  Seat  of  War. 

ITHIN  three  days  I  managed  to 
provide  myself  with  a  very  complete 
military  outfit;  quite  sufficient  to 
enable  me  to  commence  operations 
without  delay,  which  was  the  main 
J5  thing  I  was  after,  for  I  was  exceed- 
~g  ingly  anxious  to  carry  out  a  magnifi 
cent  idea  I  had  in  my  mind,  and  to 
present  myself  before  my  husband, 
under  such  auspices  that  he  could 
no  longer  find  an  excuse  for  refusing 
his  consent  to  my  joining  the  South 
ern  army  as  a  soldier.  My  uniform 
suit  having  been  arranged  for,  it 
was  an  easy  matter  for  me  to  procure  the  rest  of  my  outfit 
without  unduly  attracting  attention,  and  I  soon  had  in  my 
room  a  trunk  well  packed  with  the  wearing  apparel  of  an 
army  officer,  and  neatly  marked  upon  the  outside  with  the 
name  I  had  concluded  to  adopt. 

LIEUTENANT  H.  T.  BUFORD,  C.  S.  A. 

When  I  saw  the  trunk  with  this  name  upon  it  as  large  as 
life,  my  heart  fairly  jumped  for  joy,  and  I  felt  as  if  the  dream 
of  my  life  were  already  more  than  half  realized.  There  was 
a  good  deal,  however,  to  be  done  before  I  could  move  any 

61 


62  MAKING   A   START. 

farther  in  this  momentous  affair,  and  while  waiting  for  the 
tailor  to  send  my  uniform  suit,  I  thought  and  planned  until 
my  head  fairly  arched.  At  length  I  hit  upon  a  method  of 
arranging  my  financial  matters  which  I  judged  would  prove 
satisfactory,  and  concluded  to  call  in  a  gentleman  who  was  a 
very  old  and  intimate  friend  of  both  my  husband  and  myself, 
and  demand  his  assistance. 

A  FEIEND  IN  NEED. 

This  friend,  in  whom  I  knew  full  reliance  could  be  placed, 
came  to  my  room  immediately  upon  my  summons,  and  having 
first  sworn  him  to  secrecy,  I  made  a  full  revelation  with  regard 
to  what  I  proposed  to  do.  He  turned  deadly  pale  when  I 
informed  him  of  my  intention  to  disguise  myself  as  a  man,  and 
to  enter  the  army  on  exactly  the  same  footing  as  other 
combatants ;  but,  having  recovered  from  his  first  astonishment 
and  dismay,  he  tried  to  treat  the  whole  matter  as  a  jest,  and 
evidently  believed  that  I  was  either  a  little  demented,  or  was 
indulging  in  an  absurd  bit  of  pleasantry.  He  was  convinced, 
however,  that  I  really  meant  business,  when  he  saw  the  trunk 
with  my  military  pseudonyme  upon  it,  the  male  garments  which 
the  tailor  had  just  sent  home,  and  the  accoutrements  I  had 
purchased  within  the  past  two  or  three  days. 

As  I  had  anticipated,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  endeavor  to 
persuade  me  to  abandon  my  wild  ideas,  as  he  called  them. 
He  went  over  all  the  arguments  my  husband  had  used,  adding 
a  great  many  of  his  own,  and  painted  military  associations  in 
the  blackest  and  most  repulsive  colors.  He  might  as  well 
have  talked  to  the  wind,  for  my  heart  was  fixed  on  achieving 
fame,  and  of  accomplishing  even  more  than  the  great  heroines 
of  history  had  been  able  to  do.  I  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all 
his  remonstrances,  and  the  only  answer  I  gave  to  his  pleadings 
that  I  would  abandon  the  thought  of  unsexing  myself,  was  to 
insist  upon  his  aid.  This  he  finally  promised  to  give,  although 
most  reluctantly,  when  he  found  that  nothing  he  could  say 
would  move  me  from  my  purpose. 

My  friend  suggested  that  the  first  thing  to  be  done  was, 
for  me  to  leave  the  hotel ;  so,  sending  for  a  man,  he  had  my 
trunk  and  military  equipments  carried  to  the  house  in  which 
he  occupied  apartments.  My  other  baggage  was  prepared 
for  removal,  and  was  taken  away  to  be  stored  in  a  place  of 
safety  until  I  should  need  it  again,  which  I  hoped  would  not 


A   TRANSFORMATION.  63 

be  very  soon.  After  paying  my  bill,  and  giving  the  proprietor 
to  understand  that  I  was  about  to  leave  the  city,  my  friend 
managed  to  get  me  into  my  new  quarters  without  my  being 
observed  by  any  one.  Telling  me  that  he  would  take  care 
to  prevent  any  interruption  while  I  was  making  my  toilet,  he 
retired  and  left  me  to  myself. 

I  immediately  proceeded  to  change  my  garments,  and  ere 
a  great  many  minutes  had  elapsed,  I  was  transformed  into  a 
man,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  clothing  to  transform  me. 
When  I  was  ready  I  called  my  friend,  and  asked  his  opinion 
of  the  figure  I  cut.  He  admitted  that  I  was  not  a  bad 
looking  specimen  of  a  man,  considering  I  had  only  been 
about  five  minutes,  and  thought  that  in  time  I  should  be 
able  to  do  credit  to  the  name  I  bore  and  the  clothes  I  wore. 

The  only  regret  I  had  in  making  up  my  disguise,  was  the 
necessity  for  parting  with  my  long  and  luxuriant  hair.  This 
gave  me  a  real  pang ;  but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  I 
submitted  with  as  good  a  grace  as  I  could  muster,  while  my 
friend  played  the  part  of  tonsorial  artist  with  a  pair  of  shears. 
He  trimmed  my  hair  tolerably  close,  and  said  that  it  would 
answer  until  1  could  visit  a  barber's  shop  with  him,  and  be 
initiated  into  some  of  the  mysteries  of  such  a  peculiarly 
masculine  place  of  resort.  Before  going  to  the  barberrs, 
however,  he  made  me  promenade  the  room,  practising  a 
masculine  gait,  until  I  had  acquired  it  tolerably  well,  and 
gave  me  a  great  number  of  very  minute  instructions  about 
the  proper  manner  of  conducting  myself  so  that  my  sex 
would  not  be  suspected.  He  particularly  enjoined  me  to 
watch  his  actions  closely  at  the  barber's,  in  the  drinking 
saloons,  the  billiard  rooms,  and  the  other  places  he  intended 
conducting  me  to,  for  the  purpose  of  informing  me  with 
regard  to  some  masculine  habits  and  ways  of  acting,  talking, 
and  thinking. 

AT  THE  BARBER'S. 

A  carriage  having  been  sent  for,  we  were  driven  to  the 
shop  of  an  old  Virginian  negro  barber,  whom  my  friend  was 
accustomed  to  patronize.  Entering  first,  he  took  off  his 
hat  and  coat,  and  hung  them  up,  and  throwing  himself  into 
one  of  the  barber's  chairs,  asked  to  have  his  hair  trimmed  and 
his  face  shaved.  I  followed  his  movements  as  closely  as  I 
was  able,  and  was  soon  in  my  shirt  sleeves  and  in  possession 
of  another  chair,  with  an  obsequious  colored  individual  stand- 


64 

ing  over  me,  vigorously  mixing  lather  in  a  cup;  which  he 
evidently  intended  to  apply  to  my  face,  notwithstanding  that 
I  had  not  the  least  sign  of  a  beard.  I  was  very  much  amused, 
but  also  a  trifle  frightened  at  this  manoeuvre,  for  I  really  did 
not  want  to  have  my  face  scraped  with  a  razor,  and  yet 
scarcely  knew  whether  it  would  be  the  correct  thing  to  decline 
going  through  the  performance.  My  friend  saw  the  dilemma 
I  was  in,  and  came  to  the  rescue,  by  informing  the  barber  that 
his  young  friend  only  wanted  to  have  his  hair  trimmed  in"  the 
latest  style.  The  negro  took  the  hint,  but  grinned  a  little  as 
he  put  away  the  shaving  apparatus,  at  which  I  was  almost 
inclined  to  believe  that  he  had  suspicions  with  regard  to  me. 

I  was  somewhat  reassured,  however,  and  at  the  same  time 
gained  a  bit  of  information  with  regard  to  certain  masculine 
traits,  when,  as  he  commenced  to  trim  my  hair,  he  said, 
"  De  young  gemmen  in  de  military  always  likes  to  be  shaved, 
sah,  even  if  dey  hasn't  any  beard.  Dey  tinks  dat  it  helps  to 
make  de  beard  grow,  sah ; "  and  Jhen  he  laughed  heartily,  as 
if  he  thought  he  was  getting  off  a  first-rate  joke  at  the 
expense  of  a  large  and  important  class  of  his  customers. 
For  my  own  part  I  appreciated  the  joke  immensely,  in  spite 
of  the  embarrassment  under  which  I  labored,  and  assured  my 
colored  friend  that  I  had  no  disposition  to  force  my  beard, 
but  thought  that  it  would  come  of  itself  in  course  of  time 
without  assistance.  The  barber  took  this  view  of  the  case 
himself,  and  intimated  confidentially  that  in  his  opinion  a  good 
many  young  fellows  in  their  haste  to  get  beards  before  nature 
intended  that  they  should  have  any,  not  only  give  themselves 
considerable  unnecessary  pain  by  hacking  their  chins  with 
awkwardly  handled  razors,  but  interfered  materially  with  the 
proper  and  graceful  growth  of  the  hirsute  adornment  when  it 
did  begin  to  make  its  appearance. 

I  was  entertained,  and  not  a  little  edified,  by  the  talk  with 
which  the  barber  regaled  me  while  he  was  cutting  my  hair ; 
and,  as  it  was  evident  from  his  manner  that  he  took  me  for  a 
young  man,  I  was  greatly  reassured  with  regard  to  the 
success  of  my  disguise,  and  left  the  shop  with  an  increased 
confidence  in  my  ability  to  play  the  part  I  had  assumed.  I 
was  the  more  encouraged  as  my  friend,  when  we  were  once 
more  in  the  street,  told  me  that  I  had  conducted  myself  first 
rate,  although  he  warned  me  that  he  was  about  to  take  me  to 
a  number  of  places  with  which  I  would  not  be  so  well  pleased 
as  I  had  been  with  the  barber's  shop,  and  in  which  I  would  be 


MASCULINE   AMUSEMENTS.  65 

compelled  to  be  constantly  on  my  guard.  He  advised  me  to 
watch  closely  what  he  did,  to  treat  to  drinks  or  cigars  after 
him,  but  not  to  take  part  in  any  games. 

Strolling  down  the  street,  we  soon  came  to  the  hotel,  and 
entered  the  bar-room,  where  my  companion  met  a  number  of 
friends,  to  whom  he  introduced  me  as  a  young  officer  on  his 
way  to  the  seat  of  war.  I  was  received  with  much  cordiality, 
and  the  whole  party  speedily  engaged  in  an  animated  con 
versation  about  the  coming  conflict.  I  said  as  little  as  possi 
ble,  but  tried  to  take  part  in  the  discussion,  when  I  was 
compelled  to  speak,  in  as  easy  and  natural  a  manner  as  I 
could  without  unduly  obtruding  myself.  Of  course,  as  soon 
as  the  first  introductions  were  over,  somebody  suggested 
drinks.  The  men  all  took  whiskey  straight ;  but  I  did  not 
venture  on  anything  stronger  than  cider.  Soon  my  companion 
managed  to  give  me  a  quiet  hint,  and  I  treated  the  party  to 
drinks  and  cigars.  We  then  adjourned  to  the  billiard-room, 
and  my  friend,  taking  off  his  coat,  went  at  a  game  in  good 
earnest  with  another  member  of  the  party.  I  had  never 
seen  the  game  of  billiards  played  before,  and  I  soon  became 
intensely  interested  in  watching,  from  a  chair  in  which  I  sat 
in  my  shirt  sleeves,  pretending  to  smoke  my  cigar,  the  balls 
rolling  over  the  table.  As  the  weather  was  warm,  I  very  soon, 
after  entering  the  billiard-room,  availed  myself  of  what  seemed 
to  be  the  custom  of  the  place,  to  take  off  my  heavily  padded 
coat,  which  began  to  be  unbearable,  and  found  myself  much 
more  at  my  ease  sitting  in  my  shirt  sleeves. 

A  VISIT  TO  A  FARO  BANK. 

The  players  kept  pushing  the  balls  about,  until  nearly  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  sitting  all  the  time  watching  them 
intently,  and  endeavoring  to  obtain  some  idea  of  the  game. 
When  one  o'clock  struck,  my  friend  proposed  that  we  should 
go  to  a  faro  bank  j  and  although  I  was  both  sleepy  and  tired, 
for  it  was  long  after  my  usual  hour  for  retiring,  and  I 
was  pretty  well  used  up  with  the  excitement  of  the  day,  I 
felt  bound  to  do  whatever  my  instructor  in  masculine  manners 
desired  me.  I  knew  what  the  game  of  faro  was,  for  my 
father's  country  people  are  all  extravagantly  fond  of  sports 
of  every  kind,  while  in  the  army,  especially  upon  lonely 
frontier  stations,  a  game  of  cards  is  frequently  the  only 
diversion  that  officers  have.  Both  before  and  after  my 
5 


66  THE  GAME   OF   FARO. 

marriage,  therefore,  I  had  been  accustomed  to  card-playing, 
and  was  familiar  with  all  the  principal  games,  although  there 
were  some,  like  faro,  used  only  for  gambling  purposes,  which  I 
had  never  seen  played  in  a  regular  manner. 

Before  entering  the  faro  bank,  my  companion  cautioned  me 
not,  under  any  circumstances,  at  the  present  or  any  future 
time,  to  take  part  in  games  like  faro,  or  to  drink  any  strong 
liquor.  Card-playing  for  money,  he  said,  I  could  avoid  with 
tolerable  ease,  but  I  would  frequently  be  so  situated  that  I 
would  be  compelled  to  drink,  and  that  I  had  better  at  once 
establish  a  reputation  for  temperance,  and  only  take  something 
that  could  not  possibly  intoxicate.  If  it  was  once  understood 
that  I  never  touched  whiskey,  brandy,  or  even  wine,  I  could 
manage  to  get  along  very  well,  even  with  hard  drinkers,  and 
would  very  seldom  be  troubled  by  being  forced  to  imbibe 
when  I  did  not  wish  to  do  so,  while  all  sensible  people  would 
respect  me.  My  friend  liked  very  well  to  take  something 
stronger  than  water  himself,  but  he  felt  that  what  would  do 
for  him  would  not  do  for  me,  and  that  even  a  very  slight 
indiscretion  with  regard  to  such  a  matter  as  this  might  get 
me  into  serious  trouble  and  thwart  all  my  plans.  His  present 
object  was  simply  to  show  me  some  points  of  masculine  life, 
which  it  was  important  I  should  be  acquainted  with  in  order 
that  I  might  play  my  part  with  entire  success ;  for,  having 
failed  to  dissuade  me  from  my  grand  scheme,  •  he  was 
exceedingly  solicitous  that  I  should  acquit  myself  with 
credit,  and  get  through  without  tarnishing  my  fair  fame. 

The  faro  bank  was  crowded  with  men,  some  deeply  interest 
ed  in  the  play,  others  looking  on,  and  others  standing  about 
talking  and  drinking.  The  majority  of  the  men  in  the  room 
were  civilians ;  but  not  a  few  officers,  in  their  brilliant  uniforms, 
were  present,  and  the  war  seemed  to  be  the  one  topic  of  con 
versation.  My  friend  immediately  recognized  a  number  of 
acquaintances,  to  whom  he  introduced  me.  Among  others 
was  a  major,  who,  I  thought,  eyed  me  pretty  close,  but  who  did 
not  address  me  particularly,  except  to  exchange  the  ordinary 
civilities.  This  officer,  after  we  had  been  conversing  a  few 
moments,  proposed  that  we  should  take  a  drink,  and  the 
whole  party  went  up  to  the  bar.  All  but  myself  called  for 
brandy ;  I  took  cider.  Whereupon  the  major  said,  with 
a  smile,  "  Lieutenant,  you  don't  appear  to  be  a  heavy 
drinker?" 

"  No,"  replied  my  friend  for  me,  "  he  is  quite  temperate  ; 


GREAT   EXPECTATIONS.  67 

and  it's  just  as  good  for  him.  If  he  don't  begin  to  drink 
strong  stuff,  he'll  never  want  to." 

"  That's  so,"  said  the  major ;  "  hard  drinking  is  a  bad  habit, 
and  I  wish  sometimes  I  hadn't  acquired  it ;  but  when  a 
fellow 's  in  camp,  and  cut  off  from  civilization,  he  is  apt  to  take 
more  than  is  good  for  him ;  and  when  he  once  gets  a  start  in 
that  way,  it  is  hard  to  stop."  Then  turning  to  me,  he  said, 
"  What  part  of  the  country  do  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  He  has  just  returned  from  the  North,"  put  in  my  friend. 

"  Ah,  indeed  !  "  said  the  major.  "  To  what  command  are 
you  attached,  sir  ?  " 

"  To  none,  as  yet,"  I  replied. 

Said  my  friend,  "  He  is  a  West-Pointer,  and  has  made  up 
his  mind  to  do  some  fighting  for  the  South." 

"  The  devil  he  is  !  "  remarked  the  major,  shaking  me  heartily 
by  the  hand  ;  "  I  am  glad  to  find  him  on  the  right  side.  This 
is  the  kind  of  fellow  we  want,  and,  with  a  few  more  of 
the  same  sort,  we  will  whip  the  Yankees  inside  of  ninety 
days." 

SOME  WAR  TALK. 

In  a  few  moments  a  dozen  or  more  men  were  gathered 
around,  eagerly  shaking  my  hand  and  plying  me  with  all 
kinds  of  questions.  They  made  such  a  decided  demonstra 
tion,  that  I  began  to  be  a  little  frightened,  but  stood  my 
ground  valiantly,  and  replied  to  their  queries  the  best  I  was 
able. 

Said  one,  "  What  do  the  Yankees  think  of  us  people  down 
South  ?  " 

"  Why,"  replied  I,  '<  most  persons  say  that  there  will  be  no 
fighting,  and  I  do  not  think  they  want  to  fight  if  they  can 
help  it." 

"  We'll  show  them  about  the  fighting,"  said  another. 

"  Yes,  lieutenant,"  said  a  third,  "  one  Southerner  can  whip 
any  ten  they  send  down  here,  and  will  do  it  in  thirty  days  at 
the  farthest." 

The  major  now  asked,  "  What  do  you  think  about  foreign 

tervention  ?  " 

This  was  something  I  had  never  given  even  a  thought  to  ; 
but  I  answered  very  boldly,  and  in  a  style  that  I  thought 
would  be  appreciated  by  my  auditors,  "  We  don't  want  any 


68  A   FALSE   MUSTACHE. 

foreign  help  in  a  war  like  this.     I  reckon  we  can  manage  to 
do  our  own  fighting." 

"  That's  the  kind  of  talk,"  cried  the  major. 

There  was  considerable  more  conversation  of  this  kind, 
during  which  the  drinking  went  on  pretty  freely,  I  treating 
the  same  as  the  rest,  but  being  careful  not  to  take  anything 
that  would  upset  me.  I  informed  them  that  it  was  my  inten 
tion  to  recruit  and  equip  a  company  at  my  own  expense  in 
Rackensack,  on  the  Mississippi,  among  the  country  people, 
and  that  I  had  eighty-eight  thousand  dollars  with  which  to 
see  myself  through.  This  made  a  great  impression,  and  the 
major  remarked,  "  You  are  going  to  just  the  right  place.  The 
boys  down  there  are  first-rate  marksmen,  and  you  won't  have 
any  trouble  in  getting  as  many  of  them  as  you  want." 

The  major  by  this  time  was  pretty  full,  and  he  proposed  to 
show  me  the  sights,  if  I  would  make  a  night  of  it  with  him. 
I  thanked  him,  but  said  that  as  it  was  very  late,  and  I  was 
tired  from  travelling,  I  would  like  to  retire.  My  friend 
seconded  my  efforts  to  get  away  ;  which  we  did  finally,  after 
some  further  argument  with  my  new  acquaintances,  the  major 
especially  showing  a  disposition  to  insist  upon  my  going  with 
him  to  see  what  he  called  the  sights.  Finally  we  reached  the 
house,  where  my  friend  put  me  into  his  room,  while  he  went 
and  took  possession  of  another  apartment  occupied  by  a  friend. 
It  was  after  four  o'clock  when  I  went  to  sleep,  pretty  well 
used  up  with  the  excitement  and  unusual  exertion  which  my 
masculine  debut  had  caused  me. 

The  next  day  I  completed  my  outfit  by  purchasing  a  pair 
of  field-glasses,  a  pair  of  blankets,  a  rubber  overcoat,  and  a 
rubber  blanket.  On  returning  to  my  room  I  made  out  a 
form  of  attorney  in  my  friend's  name,  and  authorized  him  to 
attend  to  all  my  business  matters  for  me.  I  also  prepared  a 
lot  of  recruiting  papers  on  the  model  of  some  genuine  ones 
I  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of,  and  some  muster  rolls,  and 
procured  a  manual  of  tactics,  and  before  the  day  was  over, 
was  pretty  nearly  ready  to  commence  active  operations. 

My  friend,  thinking  that  my  disguise  could  be  somewhat 
improved,  and  a  more  manly  air  given  to  my  countenance, 
obtained  a  false  mustache,  and  a  solution  with  which  to  stain 
my  face,  in  order  to  make  it  look  tanned.  I  rubbed  on  the 
solution  until  my  skin  was  about  the  right  tint,  and  then  my 
friend  carefully  fastened  the  mustache  on  my  upper  lip  with 
glue.  This  was  a  very  great  improvement,  and  I  scarcely 


BEADY  TO   START.  69 

knew  myself  when  I  looked  in  the  glass,  and  laughed  at  the 
thought  of  what  my  husband  would  say  when  he  saw  me  in 
this  disguise. 

During  the  day  I  received  two  letters ;  one  from  my  father, 
informing  me  that  he  was  about  to  return  to  Cuba,  which 
relieved  my  "anxiety  lest  he  should  come  after  me,  and  the 
other  dated  Yicksburg,  from  my  husband.  In  my  reply  to 
the  latter,  I  stated  that  I  was  going  to  Texas,  for  the  purpose 
of  accompanying  my  father  to  Cuba.  This  I  thought  would 
prevent  my  husband  from  being  apprehensive  with  regard  to 
me,  and  enable  me  to  get  matters  under  good  headway  before 
he  could  interfere,  for  I  was  extremely  anxious  to  give  him  a 
first-rate  surprise. 

Everything  was  now  in  proper  trim  for  me  to  commence 
operations  in  earnest;  so,  packing  my  trunk,  rolling  up  my 
blankets  in  army  style,  as  I  had  often  seen  soldiers  do, 
preparing  my  papers,  and  getting  ready  a  change  of  under 
wear,  and  other  matters  for  immediate  use  in  a  small  satchel, 
I  was  ready  to  start  on  my  campaign  with  as  stout  a  heart  as 
ever  beat  in  the  breast  of  a  soldier. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


RECRUITING.- 

My  Plan  of  Action.  —  On  the  War  Path.  —  In  Search  of  Recruits  in  Ar 
kansas.— The  Giles  Homestead.  —  Sensation  caused  by  a  Soldier's 
Uniform.  —  A  prospective  Recruit. —  Bashful  Maidens.  —  A  nice  little 
Flirtation.  —  Learning  how  to  be  agreeable  to  the  Ladies.  —  A  Lesson 
in  masculine  Manners.  —  A  terrible  Situation.  —  Causeless  Alarm.  — 
The  young  Lady  becoming  sociable.  —  A  few  matrimonal  Hints.  —  The 
successful  Commencement  of  a  Soldier's  Career.  —  Anticipations  of  fu 
ture  Glory.  —  Dreamless  Slumbers. 

i 

HE  plan  of  action  I  had  fixed  upon, 
after  mature  reflection,  was  to  raise 
and  equip  a  battalion  at  my  own  ex 
pense,  taking  care  to  select  good 
material  for  it,  and  then  to  appear  at 
the  head  of  my  little  army  before  my 
husband,  and  to  offer  him  the  com 
mand.  I  pictured  to  myself  again 
and  again  the  look  of  astonishment 
he  would  put  on  when  he  recognized 
his  wife  as  the  leader  of  a  gallant 
band  who  were  pledged  to  fight  to 
the  death  for  the  cause  of  Southern 
independence,  and  flattered  myself 
with  the  idea  that,  so  far  from  being 
inclined  to  censure  me  for  my  obstinate  persistence  in  carrying 
out  my  idea  of  becoming  a  soldier,  he  would  be  disposed  to 
praise  without  reservation,  and  so  far  from  being  ashamed  of 
my  action,  would  be  proud  of  it.  Whatever  view  of  the  mat 
ter  he  might  take,  however,  he  would  be  compelled  to  yield 
to  my  wishes,  whether  he  desired  to  do  so  or  not,  and  I  would 
consequently  be  free  to  follow  the  bent  of  my  inclinations 
without  fear  of  further  opposition  on  his  part.  My  desire 
was  to  serve  with  him,  if  possible ;  but  if  this  could  not  be 
done.  I  intended  to  play  my  part  in  the  war  in  my  own  way, 

70 


A   GOOD   PLACE   TO   COMMENCE   RECRUITING.  71 

without  his  assistance.  I,  however,  did  not  contemplate  any 
further  difficulty  in  obtaining  his  consent,  and  even  his  assist 
ance,  in  the  execution  of  my  plans,  and  so  started  out  on  the 
war-path  with  a  light  heart,  and  with  brilliant  anticipations 
for  the  future. 

With  my  satchel,  containing  a  change  of  under- clothing  and 
a  few  other  traps,  in  my  hand,  I  crossed  over  to  Hopefield,  on 
the  Arkansas  side  of  the  river,  and  took  the  five  o'clock  train, 
not  knowing  exactly  where  I  proposed  to  bring  up.  For  a 
time  I  busied  myself  with  the  study  of  my  Manual  of  Tac 
tics,  with  the  intention  of  becoming  sufficiently  posted  on 
certain  points  to  get  my  recruits  into  something  like  military 
training  immediately.  Having  been  the  wife  of  an  army  of 
ficer  for  a  number  of  years,  and  having  seen  some  hard  ser 
vice  on  the  frontier,  I  was,  in  a  measure,  pretty  well  qualified 
for  the  work  I  had  now  undertaken,  especially  as  I  had  paid  a 
good  deal  of  attention  to  the  details  of  military  organizations, 
and  had  seen  soldiers  drilled  hundreds  of  times.  I  had  not  been 
in  the  train  very  long,  before,  finding  the  conductor  at  leisure, 
I  entered  into  conversation  with  him,  with  a  view  of  obtaining 
information  that  might  be  useful  in  the  furtherance  of  my 
designs. 

Explaining  to  this  individual,  who  appeared  to  take  the  live 
liest  interest  in  my  affairs,  that  I  was  on  a  recruiting  expedi 
tion,  I  asked  him  if  he  could  not  suggest  a  good  neighborhood 
for  me  to  commence  operations  in.  He  said  that  Hurlburt 
Station  was  as  likely  a  place  as  I  could  find  to  pick  up  a  com 
pany  of  strong,  hearty  fellows,  who  would  do  some  good 
fighting,  and  advised  me  to  try  my  luck  there.  Hurlburt,  he 
told  me,  was  not  much  of  a  place,  — a  saw-mill,  a  country 
store,  in  which  the  post  office  was  located,  a  school-house, 
which  was  also  used  as  a  church,  being  pretty  much  all  there 
was  of  it.  The  country  around,  however,  was  tolerably  well 
settled,  and  most  of  the  young  men  thereabouts  would,  he 
thought,  be  rather  glad  of  a  chance  to  have  a  crack  at  the 
Yankees. 

HURLBURT  STATION. 

The  train  speeded  through  the  swamps,  and  it  was  not  a 
great  while  before  we  reached  Hurlburt  Station,  where,  in 
accordance  with  the  conductor's  suggestion,  I  alighted.  With 
my  satchel  in  my  hand,  I  made  for  the  nearest  house,  and  in 
quired  of  a  negro,  who  was  chopping  wood,  whether  his  mas- 


76  AT  SUPPER. 

Noticing  that  Miss  Sadie  was  developing  a  marked  par 
tiality  for  me,  but  was  much  too  bashful  to  give  me  any  en 
couragement,  except  some  shy  glances  out  of  the  corners  of  her 
eyes,  I  commenced  to  ogle  her,  and,  whenever  I  had  an  op 
portunity,  to  pay  her  some  delicate  attentions,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  her  think  I  was  just  a  bit  fascinated  with  her.  It 
soon  became  very  evident  that  the  heart  which  beat  under 
that  yellow  calico  dress  was  in  a  great  state  of  excitement,  and 
Miss  Sadie,  while  not  encouraging  me  by  any  direct  advances, 
made  it  very  plainly  understood  that  my  little  attentions  were 
appreciated. 

While  I  was  conversing  with  the  old  woman  on  the  subject 
of  Frank's  enlistment,  and  trying  to  convince  her  that  it  was 
better  for  him  to  volunteer  than  to  wait  to  be  drafted,  —  fol 
lowing  Miss  Sadie  with  my  eyes  all  the  while,  and  letting  her 
see  plainly  that  I  was  thinking  more  of  her  than  of  her  mother, 
—  I  heard  the  youngest  daughter,  Fan,  who  had  meanwhile 
left  the  room,  saying  to  her  father  that  there  was  a  soldier  in 
the  house  who  had  come  to  take  Frank  away  to  the  war.  The 
old  man  made  his  appearance  a  moment  later,  and,  shaking 
me  very  cordially  by  the  hand,  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  apologized  for  the  meagreness  of  the  accommodations  he 
was  able  to  offer.  I  judged  from  his  manner  and  from  his 
language  that  he  had  seen  better  days,  and  that  his  education 
was  much  superior  to  that  of  his  wife  and  children. 

Supper  was  now  announced,  and  we  all  sat  down  to  a  toler 
ably  plentiful  repast,  the  principal  features  of  which  were 
bacon,  cabbage,  and  fried  chickens  —  the  latter  having  been 
prepared  in  my  honor.  Miss  Sadie  managed  to  place  herself 
by  my  side,  by  a  dexterous  little  manoeuvre,  which  escaped  the 
attention  of  the  family,  but  which  I  understood  perfectly.  I, 
for  my  part,  strove  to  play  the  gallant  by  helping  her  boun 
tifully  to  the  bacon,  cabbage,  and  chicken,  and  by  endeav 
oring  to  induce  her  to  join  in  the  conversation.  She  undoubt 
edly  appreciated  my  attentions  at  their  full  value,  but  was  not 
sufficiently  self-possessed  to  do  much  talking ;  indeed,  during 
the  supper  I  could  scarcely  get  anything  out  of  her  except  a 
timid  yes  or  no. 

The  old  man,  on  the  contrary,  was  very  talkative,  and  plied 
me  with  all  kinds  of  questions  about  myself,  my  errand,  the 
war,  and  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  accomplishment  of  Southern 
independence.  I  told  him  that  my  name  was  Buford,  that  I 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army,  and  that  I  had  been  sent  down 


A   TERRIBLE   FRIGHT.  77 

to  Arkansas  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  a  company  for  service 
in  Virginia.  He  said  that  I  would  have  no  difficulty  in  get 
ting  all  the  recruits  I  wanted,  as  the  young  fellows  in  those 
parts  were  every  one  eager  to  have  a  dash  at  the  Yankees, 
and  promised  to  aid  me  in  every  way  possible. 

The  apartment  in  which  the  supper  was  served  was  about 
ten  by  twelve  feet,  and  was  used  as  a  kitchen  as  well  as  din 
ing  and  sleeping-room.  Everything  about  it  was  dreadfully 
dirty,  and  the  table  at  which  we  were  eating,  and  the  bench 
upon  which  Miss  Sadie  and  myself  were  seated,  were  both  so 
greasy  that  I  was  much  afraid  of  seriously  soiling  my  new 
clothes ;  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  my  agitation  on  this  subject 
was  attributed  by  the  yellow-calico  clad  damsel  beside  me  to 
the  close  proximity  in  which  I  was  placed  to  her.  I  ate  heartily 
of  the  viands  that  were  set  before  me,  paying  more  attention, 
however,  to  the  chicken  than  to  the  greasy  bacon  and  cabbage, 
which  latter,  however,  were  eaten  with  great  gusto  by  my 
entertainers. 

MY  MUSTACHE  IN  DANGER. 

Before  the  supper  was  over  I  had  a  terrible  fright,  and  for 
a  few  moments  fancied  that  I  was  on  the  brink  of  a  discovery 
that  would  upset  all  my  plans,  and  nip  my  enterprise  in  the 
bud.  While  drinking  a  glass  of  buttermilk,  which  I  greatly 
enjoyed,  for  it  was  the  best  thing  on  the  table,  and  was  most 
refreshing,  my  mustache  got  full  of  the  fluid,  and  when  I  at 
tempted  to  wipe  this  ornament,  which  my  Memphis  friend  had 
so  carefully  glued  upon  my  upper  lip,  and  which  added  so 
much  to  the  manliness  of  my  countenance.,  I  fancied  that  it  was 
loose  and  was  about  to  fall  off.  Here  was  a  terrible  situation, 
and  I  cannot  undertake  to  describe  what  I  felt.  To  say  that 
I  was  frightened,  scarcely  gives  an  idea  of  the  cold  chills  that 
ran  down  my  back.  The  ridicule  of  my  entertainers,  and 
especially  of  Miss  Sadie,  was  the  least  thing  that  I  feared,  and 
I  would  rather  brave  any  number  of  perils  at  the  cannon's 
mouth  than  to  repeat  the  emotions  of  that  dreadful  moment. 
Such  a  situation  as  this  is  ludicrous  enough,  but  it  was  not  a 
bit  funny  for  me  at  that  time ;  and  I  was  on  pins  and  needles 
until  I  could  get  away,  and  take  means  to  secure  the  mustache 
firmly  on  again.  I  managed,  however,  to  keep  a  straight 
countenance,  and  to  join  in  the  conversation  with  a  tolerable 
degree  of  equanimity,  keeping  my  hand  up  to  my  mouth  all 
the  time  though,  and  doing  my  best  to  hold  the  mustache 


74  MRS.   GILES  AND  DAUGHTERS. 

V 

how  I  carried  myself  before  the  former,  for  she  was  clearly  a 
sharp  one,  and  would  be  quick  to  take  note  of  any  peculiarly 
feminine  traits  of  manner  I  might  display.  I  therefore  deter 
mined  to  play  the  man  right  manfully,  whether  I  thought  my 
self  observed  or  not ;  and  this  I  found  to  be  a  very  good  rule 
to  go  by  throughout  the  entire  period  during  which  I  wore 
my  disguise. 

While  making  my  toilet,  I  noticed  the  old  woman  and  a 
couple  of  girls  peeping  at  me  through  a  crack  in  the  wall,  and 
I  accordingly,  without  appearing  to  notice  them,  took  pains  to 
strut  about  in  as  mannish  a  manner  as  I  could,  and  to  imitate 
a  man's  actions  and  gestures  while  washing  my  face  and  hands 
and  arranging  my  hair. 

After  a  bit,  Mrs.  Giles  and  her  daughters  came  into  the  room, 
the  girls  blushing  up  to  their  eyes,  and  dreadfully  abashed,  at 
being  compelled  to  go  through  with  the  ceremony  of  an  intro 
duction  to  the  handsome  and  gayly  dressed  young  officer. 
The  eldest  of  the  Jwo  daughters  was  about  sixteen,  and  was 
attired  in  a  bright,  flaring  yellow  calico ;  the  youngest  was 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  was  somewhat  less  unbecom 
ingly  dressed  in  pink.  Both  of  the  girls  had  put  on  the  best 
they  had  to  do  honor  to  the  occasion,  and  the  eldest,  especially, 
so  soon  as  her  first  bashfulness  wore  off,  seemed  very  much 
disposed  to  attract  the  particular  attention  of  the  visitor  by 
various  little  feminine  artifices,  which  I  understood  very  well, 
and  which  amused  me  immensely. 

On  entering  the  room,  the  old  woman  said,  awkwardly 
waving  her  hands  towards  her  daughters,  tf  These  is  my  gals, 
sir." 

I  bowed  in  the  politest  manner,  and  said,  with  what  I  in 
tended  to  be  a  particularly  fascinating  smile,  "  Good  evening, 
ladies/7  laying  a  particular  emphasis  on  the  word  "  ladies  j  " 
which  had  the  desired  effect,  for  both  of  the  girls  blushed 
deeper  than  ever,  and  the  eldest  simpered  as  if  she  heartily 
enjoyed  it.  The  daughters,  however,  were  too  much  confused 
just  yet  to  do  a  great  deal  in  the  way  of  conversation ;  so,  for 
the  sake  of  sociability,  and  to  put  the  entire  party  at  their 
ease,  I  started  a  talk  with  the  old  woman,  by  remarking  that 
it  had  been  an  exceedingly  pleasant  day. 

"  Yes/7  replied  Mrs.  Giles  ;  "  but  the  craps  need  rain.77 

After  a  few  commonplaces  of  this  kind  about  the  weather, 
and  other  matters  of  no  particular  moment,  I  thought  I  might 
as  well  proceed  to  business  at  once ;  for  I  expected  that  I 


A   FLOWER   OF   THE   ARKANSAS  FOREST.  75 

would  have  some  opposition  from  the  old  woman  in  my  effort 
to  enlist  Frank.  So  I  said,  "  Madam,  I  am  trying  to  enlist 
your  son  for  a  soldier  in  my  company ;  don't  you  think  you 
can  spare  him  ?  " 

She  burst  out  crying,  and  exclaimed,  "  0,  sir,  I  can't  let  my 
boy  go  for  a  soldier  and  get  killed." 

The  youngest  girl,  seeing  her  mother  in  tears,  began  to 
blubber  a  little  also ;  but  the  eldest  not  only  did  not  cry,  but 
she  looked  at  me  in  such  a  peculiar  way,  that  I  was  convinced 
she  wished  I  would  take  her  instead  of  Frank. 

Ap  ARKANSAS  BELLE. 

The  idea  of  having  a  mild  little  flirtation  with  this  fair 
flower  of  the  Arkansas  forest  rather  grew  upori  me  as  I  noticed 
the  impression  I  was  making  upon  her  susceptible  imagina 
tion.  I  had  some  curiosity  to  know  how  love-making  went 
from  the  masculine  standpoint,  and  thought  that  the  present 
would  be  a  good  opportunity  to  gain  some  valuable  experience 
in  that  line  j  for  it  occurred  to  me  that  if  I  was  to  figure  suc- 
cesssfully  in  the  role  of  a  dashing  young  Confederate  officer,  it 
would  be  necessary  for  me  to  learn  how  to  make  myself  im- 
mensly  agreeable  to  the  ladies.  I  knew  how  to  make  myself 
agreeable  to  the  men,  or  thought  I  did,  and  I  could,  if  I  chose, 
be  agreeable  to  women  in  a  feminine  sort  of  fashion ;  but  I 
had  never  studied  the  masculine  carriage  towards  my  sex  crit 
ically,  with  a  view  of  imitating  it,  and  it  was  important,  there 
fore,  that  I  should  begin  at  once  to  do  so,  in  order  that  when 
compelled  to  associate  with  women,  as  I  assuredly  would  be  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent,  I  might  not  belie  my  outward  appear 
ances  by  my  conduct.  I  flatter  myself  that  during  the  time  I 
passed  for  a  man  I  was  tolerably  successful  with  the  women ; 
and  I  had  not  a  few  curious  and  most  amusing  adventures, 
which  gave  me  an  insight  into  some  of  the  peculiarities  of 
feminine  human  nature  which  had  not  impressed  themselves 
on  my  mind  before,  perhaps  because  I  was  a  woman. 

My  flirtation  with  Miss  Sadie  Giles  was  not  a  very  savage 
one,  and  I  hope  that  it  did  not  inflict  more  damage  on  her 
heart  than  it  did  on  mine.  It  was  immensely  amusing  to  me 
while  it  lasted,  arid  I  presume,  if  not  exactly  amusing,  it  might 
at  least  be  deemed  entertaining  to  her.  At  any  rate,  I  suc 
ceeded  not  only  in  having  a  little  sly  fun  at  her  expense,  but 
I  picked  up  an  idea  or  two  that  I  subsequently  found  useful. 


76  AT  SUPPER. 

Noticing  that  Miss  Sadie  was  developing  a  marked  par 
tiality  for  me,  but  was  much  too  bashful  to  give  me  any  en 
couragement,  except  some  shy  glances  out  of  the  corners  of  her 
eyes,  I  commenced  to  ogle  her,  and,  whenever  I  had  an  op 
portunity,  to  pay  her  some  delicate  attentions,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  her  think  I  was  just  a  bit  fascinated  with  her.  It 
soon  became  very  evident  that  the  heart  which  beat  under 
that  yellow  calico  dress  was  in  a  great  state  of  excitement,  and 
Miss  Sadie,  while  not  encouraging  me  by  any  direct  advances, 
made  it  very  plainly  understood  that  my  little  attentions  were 
appreciated. 

While  I  was  conversing  with  the  old  woman  on  the  subject 
of  Frank's  enlistment,  and  trying  to  convince  her  that  it  was 
better  for  him  to  volunteer  than  to  wait  to  be  drafted,  —  fol 
lowing  Miss  Sadie  with  my  eyes  all  the  while,  and  letting  her 
see  plainly  that  I  was  thinking  more  of  her  than  of  her  mother, 
—  I  heard  the  youngest  daughter,  Fan,  who  had  meanwhile 
left  the  room,  saying  to  her  father  that  there  was  a  soldier  in 
the  house  who  had  come  to  take  Frank  away  to  the  war.  The 
old  man  made  his  appearance  a  moment  later,  and,  shaking 
me  very  cordially  by  the  hand,  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  apologized  for  the  meagreness  of  the  accommodations  he 
was  able  to  offer.  I  judged  from  his  manner  and  from  his 
language  that  he  had  seen  better  days,  and  that  his  education 
was  much  superior  to  that  of  his  wife  and  children. 

Supper  was  now  announced,  and  we  all  sat  down  to  a  toler 
ably  plentiful  repast,  the  principal  features  of  which  were 
bacon,  cabbage,  and  fried  chickens  —  the  latter  having  been 
prepared  in  my  honor.  Miss  Sadie  managed  to  place  herself 
by  my  side,  by  a  dexterous  little  manoeuvre,  which  escaped  the 
attention  of  the  family,  but  which  I  understood  perfectly.  I, 
for  my  part,  strove  to  play  the  gallant  by  helping  her  boun 
tifully  to  the  bacon,  cabbage,  and  chicken,  and  by  endeav 
oring  to  induce  her  to  join  in  the  conversation.  She  undoubt 
edly  appreciated  my  attentions  at  their  full  value,  but  was  not 
sufficiently  self-possessed  to  do  much  talking ;  indeed,  during 
the  supper  I  could  scarcely  get  anything  out  of  her  except  a 
timid  yes  or  no. 

The  old  man,  on  the  contrary,  was  very  talkative,  and  plied 
me  with  all  kinds  of  questions  about  myself,  my  errand,  the 
war,  and  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  accomplishment  of  Southern 
independence.  I  told  him  that  my  name  was  Buford,  that  I 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army,  and  that  I  had  been  sent  down 


A   TERRIBLE   FRIGHT.  77 

to  Arkansas  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  a  company  for  service 
in  Virginia.  He  said  that  I  would  have  no  difficulty  in  get 
ting  all  the  recruits  I  wanted,  as  the  young  fellows  in  those 
parts  were  every  one  eager  to  have  a  dash  at  the  Yankees, 
and  promised  to  aid  me  in  every  way  possible. 

The  apartment  in  which  the  supper  was  served  was  about 
ten  by  twelve  feet,  and  was  used  as  a  kitchen  as  well  as  din 
ing  and  sleeping-room.  Everything  about  it  was  dreadfully 
dirty,  and  the  table  at  which  we  were  eating,  and  the  bench 
upon  which  Miss  Sadie  and  myself  were  seated,  were  both  so 
greasy  that  I  was  much  afraid  of  seriously  soiling  my  new 
clothes ;  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  my  agitation  on  this  subject 
was  attributed  by  the  yellow-calico  clad  damsel  beside  me  to 
the  close  proximity  in  which  I  was  placed  to  her.  I  ate  heartily 
of  the  viands  that  were  set  before  me,  paying  more  attention, 
however,  to  the  chicken  than  to  the  greasy  bacon  and  cabbage, 
which  latter,  however,  were  eaten  with  great  gusto  by  my 
entertainers. 

MY  MUSTACHE  IN  DANGER. 

Before  the  supper  was  over  I  had  a  terrible  fright,  and  for 
a  few  moments  fancied  that  I  was  on  the  brink  of  a  discovery 
that  would  upset  all  my  plans,  and  nip  my  enterprise  in  the 
bud.  While  drinking  a  glass  of  buttermilk,  which  I  greatly 
enjoyed,  for  it  was  the  best  thing  on  the  table,  and  was  most 
refreshing,  my  mustache  got  full  of  the  fluid,  and  when  I  at 
tempted  to  wipe  this  ornament,  which  my  Memphis  friend  had 
so  carefully  glued  upon  my  upper  lip,  and  which  added  so 
much  to  the  manliness  of  my  countenance.,  I  fancied  that  it  was 
loose  and  was  about  to  fall  off.  Here  was  a  terrible  situation, 
and  I  cannot  undertake  to  describe  what  I  felt.  To  say  that 
I  was  frightened,  scarcely  gives  an  idea  of  the  cold  chills  that 
ran  down  my  back.  The  ridicule  of  my  entertainers,  and 
especially  of  Miss  Sadie,  was  the  least  thing  that  I  feared,  and 
I  would  rather  brave  any  number  of  perils  at  the  cannon's 
mouth  than  to  repeat  the  emotions  of  that  dreadful  moment. 
Such  a  situation  as  this  is  ludicrous  enough,  but  it  was  not  a 
bit  funny  for  me  at  that  time ;  and  I  was  on  pins  and  needles 
until  I  could  get  away,  and  take  means  to  secure  the  mustache 
firmly  on  again.  I  managed,  however,  to  keep  a  straight 
countenance,  and  to  join  in  the  conversation  with  a  tolerable 
degree  of  equanimity,  keeping  my  hand  up  to  my  mouth  all 
the  time  though,  and  doing  my  best  to  hold  the  mustache 


78  PERSONALITIES. 

on.  My  fright,  after  all,  was  causeless,  for  on  examination  I 
found  that  the  hair  was  too  firmly  glued  to  my  lip  to  be  easily 
removed ;  indeed,  I  subsequently  discovered  that  it  was  prac 
tically  impossible  to  move  it  without  the  aid  of  alcohol. 

After  supper,  the  old  man  and  Frank  went  off  to  finish  up 
their  work  before  going  to  bed,  and  the  women  folks  busied 
themselves  in  clearing  the  dishes.  I  had  thus  a  little  time  to 
myself,  and  took  advantage  of  it,  first  of  all,  to  ascertain  about 
the  security  of  my  mustache.  To  my  intense  relief  I  found  it 
as  fast  as  if  it  actually  grew  on  my  lip ;  and  so,  with  a  light 
heart,  I  returned  to  the  house,  and  joined  the  old  woman  and 
the  girls. 

During  the  supper,  the  elder  Giles  nearly  monopolized  the 
conversation,  and  scarcely  gave  his  wife  and  children  a 
chance  to  put  a  word  in  edgewise.  I  saw  very  plainly  that 
the  old  woman  was  worried  at  the  prospect  of  losing  Frank,  and 
consequently  prepared  to  sustain  a  heavy  siege  of  queries  and 
expostulations  from  her.  Leaving  the  girls  to  finish  putting 
away  the  supper  things,  she  seated  herself  in  the  corner, 
and  began  pulling  vigorously  at  a  pipe  filled  with  some  very 
strong-smelling  tobacco,  which  was  far  from  grateful  to  my 
nostrils. 

After  a  variety  of  inquiries  about  the  war,  the  duties  of  a 
soldier,  the  chances  of  being  killed,  the  amount  of  pay  a  sol 
dier  received,  and  like  matjters,  she  asked  whether  I  had  any 
parents. 

I  replied  that  my  father  was  living. 

"  Ain't  he  opposed  to  your  going  to  the  war  ?  "  said  she. 

"  0,  no,"  I  answered ;  "  he  knows  that  it  is  what  a  military 
man  must  expect ;  and  he  not  only  wants  me  to  go,  but  he 
will  be  disappointed  if  I  do  not  see  some  hard  fighting,  and 
have  a  chance  to  distinguish  myself." 

"  Are  you  married  ?  "  was  the  next  query. 

"  No,  madam,"  I  replied,  giving  a  sharp  look  at  Sadie,  who 
made  a  pause  in  her  rattling  of  the  dishes  to  hear  what  I 
would  say ;  "  I  am  one  of  the  unfortunate  single  men." 

"  You  are  much  better  off,  young  man,"  struck  in  the  old 
man  Giles,  who  just  then  came  in ;  and  throwing  himself  on  the 
bench,  began  to  smoke  a  very  strong  pipe  rather  furiously. 

Hearing  the  girls  giggle  at  this,  I  glanced  over  my  shoulder, 
and  seeing  that  Miss  Sadie  had  finished  her  work,  and  was 
apparently  anxious  to  be  better  acquainted  with  me,  I  politely 
arose  and  offered  her  my  raw-hide  chair.  This  she  blushingly 


FOL-DE-ROL.  •    79 

declined,  but  took  a  wooden  stool,  upon  which  she  seated 
herself  quite  close  to  me.  I  could  think  of  nothing  so  likely 
to  loosen  her  tongue,  and  make  her  properly  sociable,  as  a 
reference  to  religious  matters  ;  so  I  asked  her  if  there  were 
any  churches  in  the  neighborhood. 

She  said  that  there  was  no  regular  church,  but  that  on  Sun 
days  a  preacher  held  forth  in  the  school-house  ;  and  then, 
without  much  difficulty,  we  got  into  quite  a  discussion  about 
religion,  and  from  that  to  other  matters  of  more  immediate 
interest,  if  not  of  so  much  permanent  importance.  The  old 
man,  I  presume,  was  rather  tired,  and  so,  taking  advantage  of 
this  change  of  subject  in  our  conversation,  he  went  to  bed, 
and  soon  was  snoring  lustily.  Finally,  Miss  Sadie  got  back  to 
what  was  the  subject  uppermost  in  her  thoughts,  and  began 
questioning  me  about  my  own  affairs,  by  asking  if  I  had  any 
brothers. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied ;  "  one,  older  than  myself,  who  is  more 
fortunate,  for  he  is  married,"  —  giving  a  look  at  her  out  of  the 
corner  of  my  eye,  which  I  intended  her  to  understand  as  an 
intimation  that,  although  not  married,  I  had  no  objections  to 
being  so  if  I  could  find  a  girl  to  suit  me.  , 

"  You  ought  to  be  married,  too,"  said  Miss  Sadie,  with  a 
simper,  and  apparently  appreciating  this  kind  of  conversation 
much  better  than  the  war  talk  the  old  man  and  I  had  been 
indulging  in. 

"  How  can  I  get  married  when  none  of  the  girls  will  have 
.  me  ?  "  I  retorted. 

"  You  git  out,"  was  the  rather  irrelevant  remark  Miss  Sadie 
made  at  this  point,  but  giving  me  no  reason  to  believe  that 
she  meant  her  words  to  be  construed  literally. 

The  old  woman  thinking,  I  suppose,  to  flatter  me,  said,  "  A 
handsome  young  fellow  like  you,  with,  I  dare  say,  a  pretty 
fair  education,  needn't  be  afraid  of  the  gals  not  having  you." 

At  this  point  of  the  conversation  the  old  man  awoke,  and 
sang  out,  "  Don't  you  women  talk  that  man  to  death.  Why 
don't  you  git  out  and  let  him  go  to  bed  ?  "  and  then,  pointing 
to  a  bed  in  the  corner,  he  told  me  to  turn  in  there  when  I  felt 
like  it. 

THE  END  OF  A  DAY'S  ADVENTURE. 

This  was  a  broad  enough  hint  that  Mr.  Giles  did  not  want  to 
hear  any  more  conversation  that  night ;  so  I  excused  myself  to 
the  old  woman  and  the  girls,  and  stepped  out  on  the  porch  to 


80  BED   TIME. 

think  a  little  by  myself  as  to  what  I  had  best  do  next.  Here 
I  was  at  the  end  of  my  first  day's  experience  in  playing  the 
part  of  a  soldier,  with  every  reason  to  believe  that  I  had  thus 
far  played  it  most  successfully,  and  that  I  had  really  made 
quite  a  brilliant  start.  The  prospects  were  all  in  favor  of  the 
easy  accomplishment  of  my  immediate  designs,  and  I  saw 
myself,  in  imagination,  already  at  the  head  of  a  company  of 
stalwart  young  recruits,  appearing  in  the  presence  of  my  as 
tonished  husband,  and  asking  him  to  lead  us  to  battle.  That 
I  could  successfully  pass  myself  off  for  a  man  with  both  sexes 
was  an  assured  fact,  for  the  elder  Giles  and  Frank  undoubt 
edly  took  me  for  just  what  I  professed  to  be,  and  the  latter 
was  both  willing  and  anxious  to  enter  himself  upon  my  muster- 
roll,  while  the  susceptible  heart  of  Miss  Sadie  was  apparently 
touched  in  a  way  that  it  could  never  have  been  had  the 
faintest  suspicion  of  my  not  being  a  man  crossed  her  mind. 
The  old  woman,  too,  who,  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  would  be 
quite  certain  to  be  a  more  critical  observer  than  the  rest  of 
the  family,  had  no  hesitation  in  believing  me  to  be  a  gallant 
young  soldier ;  so  that,  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  I 
had  reason  to  congratulate  myself  upon  a  brilliant  opening  to 
my  campaign. 

My  hopes  were  high,  and  my  heart  beat  quick  at  the 
thoughts  that  crowded  upon  me  of  the  future  that  seemed 
opening  out  before  me,  as  under  the  soft  stars  of  that  April 
night  I  paced  up  and  down  before  the  house  maturing  my  plans 
for  the  morrow,  and  indulging  in  romantic  imaginings  of  the 
glory  that  awaited  me,  could  I  but  follow  up  successfully  the 
career  so  auspiciously  begun.  The  thought  of  possible  failure 
only  crossed  my  mind  to  be  banished  from  it,  and  I  resolved  to 
dare  everything  to  make  success  a  certainty  and  not  a  mere 
peradventure.  At  length,  wearied  in  mind  and  body  by  the 
fatigues  and  excitements  of  the  day,  I  sought  the  couch  which 
the  hospitality  of  the  Giles  family  had  provided  me. 

When  I  got  back  to  the  room  the  old  woman  and  the  girls 
had  disappeared,  and  the  head  of  the  house  was  snoring  in 
one  corner  of  the  room.  I  had  a  large  sum  of  money  on  my 
person,  and  a  handsome  gold  watch ;  quite  enough  portable 
property,  in  fact,  to  tempt  people  so  dead  poor  as  my  enter 
tainers,  and  I  was  somewhat  dubious  at  first  about  the  best 
manner  of  disposing  of  my  valuables  for  the  night.  I  finally, 
however,  concluded  to  merely  take  off  my  coat,  vest,  and  boots, 
and  to  put  my  money  and  watch  under  me  in  such  a  manner 


SLUMBER.  81 

that  they  could  not  be  touched  without  my  being  aroused.  My 
revolver  was  also  examined,  and  found  to  be  in  good  shooting 
condition,  and  was  placed  beneath  the  pillow  so  that  I  could 
easily  grasp  it  in  any  emergency  requiring  its  use.  These 
preparations  completed,  I  threw  myself  upon  the  bed,  and  ere 
many  minutes,  overcome  with  fatigue,  I  fell  into  a  deep  and 
dreamless  sleep. 

6 


CHAPTER    VI. 

A  WIDOW. 

Flirtation  and  Recruiting.  —  My  brilliant  Success  in  enlisting  a  Company. 
—  Embarkation  for  New  Orleans.  —  Letter  from  my  Husband.  — 
Change  of  Plans.  —  Cheered  while  passing  through  Mobile.  —  Arrival 
at  Pensacola.  —  Astonishment  of  my  Husband.  —  Sudden  Death  of  my 
Husband  by  the  Bursting  of  a  Carbine.  —  Determination  to  go  to  the 
Front.  —  A  fascinating  Widow.  —  A  Lesson  in  Courtship.  —  Starting 
for  the  Seat  of  War.  —  Unpleasant  Companions.  —  A  bit  of  Flirtation 
with  a  Columbia  Belle.  —  In  Charge  of  a  Party  of  Ladies  and  Children 
at  Lynchburg.  —  Arrival  in  Richmond.  —  Another  Lady  in  Love  with 
me.  —  The  Major  wants  to  make  a  Night  of  it.  —  A  great  Game  of 
Cards.  —  Off  for  the  Battle-field. 


HE  noise  of  a  coffee-mill,  operated  in  a  very 
energetic  manner  by  one  of  the  daughters  of 
the  house,  and  the  yelling  of  half  a  dozen  ill- 
conditioned  dogs,  disturbed  my  slumbers  in 
the  morning,  at  an  hour  when  I  fain  would 
have  kept  possession  of  my  couch,  in  spite  of  its 
unsavoriness.  I  knew  that  it  was  time  to  get  up,  but 
the  fingers  of  sleep  pressed  heavily  upon  my  eyelids, 
and  I  lay  for  some  time  half  awake  and  half  lost  in 
slumber,  not  quite  certain  as  to  exactly  where  I  was, 
wondering  if  camp-life  was  as  rough  as  this,  amused  at  myself 
for  thinking  of  such  a  thing,  when  I  knew  that  many  a  soldier 
would  envy  me  my  surroundings,  and  then  dropping  off  amid 
a  cloud  of  fancies  into  a  sound  doze  again.  The  rather  pier 
cing  tones  of  Miss  Sadie,  calling  to  Frank,  and  a  fresh  outbreak 
of  yells  from  the  dogs,  awoke  me  again,  and  this  time  in  good 
earnest.  I  jumped  out  of  bed,  thinking  that  this  kind  of 
laziness  would  never  do  if  I  intended  to  be  a  soldier,  and 
pulling  on  my  boots,  I  stepped  out  on  the  porch. 

The  dawn  was  far  advanced,  but  the  sun  was  still  below  the 
horizon,  and  the  air  was  dull  and  heavy  with  dampness  and 
with  the  miasmatic  vapors  of  the  neighboring  swamps.  It 
required  some  little  exertion  for  me  to  shake  off  the  lethargy 

82 


RECRUITING   A   BATTALION.  83 

that  clung  to  my  limbs,  but  after  a  wash  in  a  wooden  bowl 
filled  with  water,  that  Frank  brought  me,  I  felt  refreshed,  and 
ready  to  begin  with  proper  energy  the  work  of  the  day.  I 
was  not  very  long  in  arranging  my  toilet,  using  my  own  soap 
and  towels,  which  I  fortunately  had  brought  with  me,  for  they 
were  articles  with  which  the  Giles  homestead  did  not  appear 
to  be  over  plentifully  supplied,  and  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
discussion  with  Frank  as  to  the  best  method  of  proceeding  in 
order  to  enlist  the  number  of  men  I  desired,  when  the  old 
woman  put  her  head  out  of  the  door  and  squeaked,  "  Come  to 
breakfast,  Mister." 

I  was  in  a  few  moments  seated  by  the  side  of  Miss  Sadie, 
who  was  still  attired  in  the  brilliant  yellow  calico  dress, 
which  was  evidently  the  most  esteemed  bit  of  .costume  her 
wardrobe  afforded.  She  blushed  furiously  as  I  greeted  her, 
but  was  so  evidently  partial  to  me,  that  the  other  members 
of  the  family  could  not  but  take  notice  of  it,  and  there  was 
not  a  little  sport  at  her  expense.  I  overheard  Frank  say  to 
her,  in  a  loud  whisper,  "  You  need  not  stick  yourself  up  for 
that  fellow;  he  don't  want  you." 

At  this  I  redoubled  my  attentions,  and  Miss  Sadie  showed 
very  plainly  by  her  manner  that  she  was  highly  flattered  by 
them,  so  much  so,  that  when  Frank,  seeing  how  things  were 
going,  whispered  maliciously,  "  I'll  tell  Bob  how  you  are  going 
on  with  that  sbldier,"  she  only  turned  up  her  nose,  and  gave 
her  head  a  toss  in  a  manner  that  indicated  as  plain  as  words, 
that  Sadie's  Arkansas  sweetheart  had  been  completely  cut  out 
by  the  military  individual  seated  beside  her.  It  was  not 
altogether  bad  fun  to  indulge  in  a  bit  of  a  flirtation  with  Miss 
Sadie,  for  she  enjoyed  the  flattering  attentions  I  paid  her 
immensely,  but  as  I  had  matters  of  more  importance  upon 
my  hands,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  make  myself  as 
agreeable  to  her  as  she  would  have  liked  me  to. 

RECRUITING. 

When  breakfast  was  over,  I  went  out  to  see  the  girls  milk 
the  cows,  and  then,  after  chatting  a  bit  with  Sadie,  I  crossed 
over  to  the  school-house,  where  I  found  half  a  dozen  rather 
rough  fellows  waiting  to  see  me,  all  of  whom  expressed  them 
selves  as  extremely  anxious  to  enlist.  One  very  hard-looking 
specimen,  who  could  not  even  write  his  name,  wanted  very 
badly  to  be  captain ;  indeed,  they  all  were  quite  ambitious  to 


84  OFF  FOB  THE  SEAT   OF  WAR. 

be  officers,  and  I  had  some  difficulty  in  explaining  to  them, 
that  in  the  army,  in  time  of  war,  where  actual  fighting  was 
being  done,  it  was  a  very  different  thing  holding  the  posi 
tion  of  an  officer,  from  what  it  was  in  the  militia.  I, 
however,  encouraged  them  to  believe  that  they  all  might  be 
lieutenants,  captains,  and  even  generals,  some  day,  if  they 
fought  bravely,  and  succeeded  in  creating  such  an  enthusiasm 
among  them  over  the  prospect  of  a  brush  with  the  Yankees, 
to  be  followed  by  rapid  promotion,  that  the  whole  party  were 
soon  ready  to  enlist  on  any  terms  I  chose  to  suggest. 

After  talking  the  matter  over  with  these  men  for  some  time, 
and  explaining  the  situation  in  the  best  style  I  was  able,  I 
wrote  out  some  bills  calling  for  volunteers,  one  of  which  I 
posted  on  the  school-house  door,  and  the  rest  I  gave  to  Frank, 
who  mounted  a  horse,  and  started  off  to  distribute  them 
through  the  country.  During  the  day  I  read  the  army  regula 
tions  at  least  a  dozen  times,  and  tried  to  make  the  men 
understand  what  they  meant,  This  was  not  a  very  easy 
matter,  but  I  succeeded  in  enrolling  thirty-six,  whom  I 
ordered  to  report  for  roll  call  the  next  morning.  This  they 
did  not  much  fancy  ;  but  on  my  stating  that  they  were  under 
oath,  and  bound  to  obey,  they  yielded  without  making  any 
trouble  about  it,  but  apparently  with  no  great  admiration  for 
military  discipline. 

My  quota  was  easily  filled  in  four  days,  and  I  then  proceeded 
to  get  my  battalion  organization  complete,  and  to  make  prepa 
rations  for  departure.  Two  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
men  I  appointed  subordinate  officers,  one  sergeant  and  the 
other  corporal ;  and  gave  them  instructions  about  drilling  the 
battalion,  and  maintaining  discipline  in  my  absence.  Every 
thing  now  being  in  proper  trim,  I  sent  a  messenger  ahead 
to  the  friend  in  Memphis  who  had  so  efficiently  aided  my 
plans,  with  instructions  for  him  to  engage  transportation,  and 
then  getting  my  troops  into  marching  order,  off  we  started. 

Having  seen  my  little  army  under  way,  I  lingered  for  a 
moment  to  bid  good-by  to  the  Giles  family.  The  old  man 
did  not  much  fancy  losing  both  his  boys,  —  for  his  youngest 
son  Ira  had  enlisted  as  well  as  Frank,  —  but  he  stood  it  bravely : 
the  old  woman,  however,  broke  down  entirely,  while  both  the 
girls  cried,  Miss  Sadie,  I  thought,  more  at  the  idea  of  parting 
with  me  than  at  losing  her  brothers.  I,  however,  begged  them 
to  keep  their  courage  up,  and  to  expect  the  boys  home  soon, 
covered  with  glory,  as  the  heroes  of  many  well-fought  fields. 


A   HOLIDAY   AFFAIR.  85 

Miss  Sadie's  hand  I  squeezed  a  bit  as  I  said  farewell,  and  I 
fancy  that  her  lover,  Bob,  had  some  difficulty  after  that  in 
obliterating  the  impression  the  young  officer  had  made  upon 
her  heart. 

ON  THE  MARCH. 

i 

I  determined  to  march  my  men  to  the  river,  in  order  to 
break  them  in ;  but  before  we  got  to  the  landing,  a  good  many 
of  them  were  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  soldiering  was 
much  harder  work  than  they  had  calculated  upon.  None  of 
them  showed  any  disposition  to  back  out,  however,  and  the 
majority,  despite  the  fatigue  of  the  march,  were  quite  elated 
at  the  prospect  before  them  of  being  able  to  see  something  of 
the  world.  1  do  not  think  any  of  them  appreciated  the  real 
importance  of  what  they  were  doing,  and  looked  upon  the 
whole  affair  much  in  the  light  of  an  excursion,  which  would  be 
rather  jolly  than  otherwise.  Indeed,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  rather 
regarded  the  thing  in  that  light  myself,  notwithstanding  that  I 
had  seen  enough  of  military  life  for  me  to  understand  some 
thing  of  its  serious  character. 

At  the  landing  I  met  my  Memphis  friend  with  my  baggage 
and  equipments  and  a  tent,  and  with  blankets  and  camp 
utensils  for  the  use  of  the  men.  He  also  handed  me  a  letter 
from  my  husband.  This  I  eagerly  read,  and  much  to  my 
disappointment,  learned  from  it  that  he  had  gone  to  Pensacola. 
I  determined,  however,  to  push  on  and  meet  him  there,  for  I 
was  bent  on  carrying  out  my  original  idea  of  surprising  him, 
and  of  offering  him  the  command  of  my  battalion.  I  accord 
ingly  embarked  my  men  —  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  in  all 
—  upon  the  steamer  Ohio  Belle,  and  issued  to  them  blankets 
and  other  articles  necessary  for  their  comfort. 

My  plan  now  was  to  go  down  to  New  Orleans,  where  I 
should  be  able  to  procure  such  stores  and  equipments  as  were 
immediately  needed,  and  where  I  could  perfect  my  disguise ; 
for,  not  only  did  my  padded  coat  not  fit  me  as  it  ought,  but  it 
was  almost  unbearably  warm,  and  I  was  anxious  to  substitute 
something  more  comfortable  for  the  padding  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment.  My  friend  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Vicks- 
burg,  where  he  bade  me  adieu,  the  tears  springing  to  his  eyes 
as  he  did  so,  for  he  could  not  dispossess  himself  of  the  impres 
sion  that  I  was  engaged  in  a  foolhardy  and  dangerous  enter 
prise,  out  of  which  I  could  scarcely  come  with  credit  to  myself 
and  friends.  He,  however,  did  not  attempt  to  dissuade  me, 


86  AN  ASTONISHED   HUSBAND. 

for  the  time  for  argument  had  long  since  passed,  and  he  knew 
perfectly  well  that  I  was  determined  to  follow  my  own 
inclinations  at  whatever  hazard. 

On  arriving  at  New  Orleans,  I  landed  my  men  a  short 
distance  above  the  city,  and  then,  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible,  purchased  my  quartermaster  and  commissary  stores, 
and  perfected  my  private  outfit  in  the  manner  stated  in  a 
previous  chapter.  Among  my  other  purchases  was  a  fine 
horse,  which  I  obtained  from  Dr.  Elliott,  on  Union  Street. 
No  finer  body  of  men  ever  went  out  of  New  Orleans  than  the 
Arkansas  Grays,  as  my  battalion  was  called.  As  we  passed 
through  Mobile  we  were  heartily  cheered,  the  men  waving 
their  hats,  and  the  women  their  handkerchiefs,  and  everybody 
commenting  in  the  most  laudatory  terms  upon  our  martial 
appearance.  I  cannot  pretend  to  tell  how  proud  I  was, 
when  I  noted  how  much  attention  we  were  attracting  ;  and  if 
the  shadow  of  a  doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  course  I 
was  pursuing  remained  in  any  mind,  it  assuredly  vanished  as 
the  cheers  of  the  citizens  of  Mobile  greeted  my  ears.  I  felt 
that,  in  spite  of  my  being  a  woman,  I  was  intended  for  a 
military  leader,  and  I  resolved,  more  firmly  than  ever,  to  let 
nothing  stand  in  the  way  of  my  winning  the  fame  I  coveted. 

A  GENUINE  SURPRISE. 

At  Pensacola  we  were  received  by  my  husband,  who  came 
to  meet  us  in  response  to  a  telegraphic  despatch  I  had  sent 
him,  signed  by  my  nom  de  guerre.  He  had  not  the  slightest 
idea  who  I  was,  and  would  not  have  recognized  me  had  I  not 
revealed  myself.  So  soon  as  I  was  able,  however,  after  land 
ing  my  men  from  the  train,  I  took  him  aside  where  I  could 
speak  to  him  privately,  and  disclosed  my  identity.  He  was 
intensely  astonished,  and  greatly  grieved,  to  see  me  come 
marching  into  Pensacola  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  men  in  such 
a  guise,  and  said,  that  although  I  had  done  nobly,  he  would 
not  for  the  world  have  had  me  attempt  such  a  thing.  I  told 
him,  however,  that  there  was  no  use  of  discussing  the  matter, 
for  I  was  determined  to  be  a  soldier,  and  then  placed  in  his 
hands  the  muster-rolls  of  my  company,  to  show  him  how  well 
I  could  do  what  I  undertook.  He  was  proud  of  the  ability  I 
had  displayed  in  carrying  out  my  plans,  and  seeing  the  use- 
lessness  of  further  argument,  took  command  of  the  men,  and 
commenced  putting  them  in  training.  After  they  were 


WIDOWHOOD.  87 

mustered  in,  and  stationed  in  camp,  Thomas  C.  De  Caulp  was 
appointed  first  lieutenant,  and  Frank  Murdock  second  lieuten 
ant,  while  I  was  ordered  back  to  New  Orleans  to  purchase 
more  stores  and  equipments. 

THE  DEATH  OF  MY  HUSBAND. 

I  had  scarcely  arrived  at  my  destination  when  I  received  a 
despatch  announcing  the  death  of  my  husband,  and  requesting 
my  immediate  return.  Terribly  shocked,  and  nearly  wild 
with  grief,  I  started  for  Pensacola  again,  and  found,  upon  my 
arrival  there,  that,  while  drilling  his  men,  my  husband  under 
took  to  explain  the  use  of  the  carbine  to  one  of  the  sergeants, 
and  the  weapon  exploded  in  his  hands,  killing  him  almost 
instantly.  I  was  now  alone  in  the  world,  and  more  than  ever 
disposed  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  war,  if  only  for  the 
purpose  of  revenging  my  husband's  death.  Smothering  my 
grief  as  much  as  possible,  I  turned  over  the  command  of  my 
battalion  to  Lieutenant  De  Caulp,  for  the  double  reason  that 
the  men  were  only  enlisted  for  three  months,  and  were  to  be 
stationed  in  Pensacola,  or  its  vicinity,  where  there  was  not 
much  prospeet  of  very  active  service  just  then,  and  that  I 
had  resolved  to  go  to  the  front  in  the  character  of  an  inde 
pendent,  with  a  view  of  leading  a  life  of  more  stirring 
adventures  than  I  probably  should  be  able  to  do  if  permanently 
attached  to  a  particular  command. 

A  PRETTY  WIDOW. 

During  the  brief  time  I  had  been  in  Pensacola  I  had  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  officers  who  were  going  to 
the  front,  and,  as  they  intended  to  leave  for  Richmond  shortly, 
I  concluded  that  it  would  be  better  to  go  in  their  company, 
especially  as  several  of  them  were  first-rate  fellows,  and  one 
or  two  particular  friends  of  my  late  husband.  I  also  became 
acquainted  with  a  good  many  ladies,  one  of  whom,  a  dashing 
young  widow,  paid  my  masculine  charms  the  compliment  of 
falling  desperately  in  love  with  them.  This  lady  did  not 
require  any  encouragement  from  me ;  but  finding  that,  while 
polite  to  her,  I  was  rather  shy  and  reserved,  and  apparently 
insensible  to  her  attractions,  she  made  a  dead  set  at  me,  and 
took  pains  to  let  me  know,  in  terms  that  could  not  be  misunder 
stood,  the  sentiments  she  felt  for  me. 


88  TOO  MUCH   OF   A   GOOD   THING. 

I  was  really  in  no  mood  for  nonsense  of  this  kind,  and,  to 
tell  the  truth,  I  was  not  particularly  pleased  with  the 
decidedly  unfeminine  advances  that  were  made  towards  me. 
The  necessity  of  playing  the  character  I  had  assumed,  how 
ever,  in  a  successful  manner,  pressed  upon  me,  and  I  felt  that 
diversion  of  some  kind  was  requisite  to  divert  my  mind 
from  the  sad  and  gloomy  thoughts  caused  by  my  bereavement. 
I  accordingly  determined  to  meet  my  fair  one  half  way,  and 
paid  her  numerous  attentions,  such  as  taking  her  to  the  theatre, 
and  to  drive  upon  the  beach.  I,  however,  resolutely  refused 
to  accept  any  of  the  numerous  very  broad  hints  she  threw 
out,  to  the  effect  that  a  little  more  love-making  would  be  more 
than  agreeable,  at  which  she  seemed  considerably  surprised. 
Finding,  at  length,  that  I  either  could  not  or  would  not  under 
stand  what  she  was  driving  at,  she  bluntly  reproached  me  for 
not  being  more  tender  in  my  demonstrations  towards  her.  I 
put  on  the  innocent  air  of  a  green  schoolboy,  perfectly  non 
plussed  with  the  advances  of  a  pretty  woman,  and  assured  her 
that  I  had  never  courted  a  Jlady  in  my  life,  and  really  did  not 
know  how  to  begin.  The  eagerness  with  which  the  widow 
undertook  to  instruct  me,  was  decidedly  comical,  and  I  learned 
more  about  some  of  the  fine  points  of  feminine  human  nature 
from  her  in  a  week,  than  I  had  picked  up  for  myself  in  twenty 
years.  The  courting  was  pretty  much  all  on  her  side,  and  I 
really  had  not  imagined  before  that  it  was  possible  for  a  lady 
to  take  such  an  important  matter  so  entirely  out  of  the 
gentleman's  hands.  For  the  fun  of  the  thing  I  pretended  to 
soften  to  her,  and  by  the  time  I  was  ready  to  start  for  Virginia, 
we  were  the  best  possible  friends ;  and  although  I  was  careful 
to  make  no  definite  promises,  the  widow  parted  from  me  with 
the  understanding  that  when  the  war  was  over  we  were  to  be 
something  more  than  friends  to  each  other.  If  I  were  a  man, 
it  would  be  absurd  for  me  to  tell  all  this,  but  being  a  woman, 
this  and  other  of  my  love  adventures  have  a  comical  interest 
for  me,  as  I  doubt  not  they  will  have  for  the  reader.  If  they 
dOv  not  show  some  of  the  members  of  my  own  sex  in  the  best 
possible  light,  it  is  their  fault  and  not  mine. 

OFF  FOR  VIRGINIA. 

On  the  16th  of  June  I  started  for  Virginia,  in  company  with 
quite  a  jovial  party  of  fellows,  who  were  much  disposed  to 
make  a  frolic  of  their  journey.  They  had  a  good  deal  of 


ON   THE   ROAD    TO   VIRGINIA.  89 

whiske}7  with  them,  and  I  was  constantly  importuned  to 
drink,  my  declining  to  do  so  not  having  the  best  possible 
effect  on  some  of  them.  The  conversation  became  more  and 
more  profane  and  ribald,  as  the  whiskey  produced  its  natural 
effect ;  and  being  almost  the  only  sober  person  in  the  party,  I 
was  not  only  intensely  disgusted,  but  the  warnings  I  had 
received  from  my  husband  came  into  my  mind,  and  had  a  most 
depressing  influence  upon  me.  Much  of  the  talk  was  mere 
meaningless  blackguardism,  and  my  ears  were  saluted  for  the 
first  time  with  nastiness  in  the  shape  of  language,  such  as  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  have  imagined  the 
tongues  of  human  beings  to  utter.  It  was  ah  intense  relief 
to  me  when,  about  four  o'clock,  the  train  arrived  at  Mont 
gomery,  and  I  was  able  to  get  by  myself  for  a  little  while. 

At  the  Exchange  Hotel  I  met  Mr.  Leroy  P.  Walker,  the 
secretary  of  war,  with  whom  I  had  a  very  pleasant  conversa 
tion  about  the  prospects  of  the  contest  with  the  North,  the 
political  situation,  and  other  matters  of  interest.  The  next 
day  I  bought  a  smart  and  mannerly  negro  boy,  named  Bob,  of 
about  eighteen  years  of  age.  I  procured  him  a  proper  suit 
of  clothes  and  a  military  cap,  and  then  gave  him  charge  of 
my  baggage,  with  instructions  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  my 
effects,  to  behave  himself  properly,  and  to  come  to  me  when 
he  wanted  spending  money.  Bob  proved  an  excellent 
servant,  taking  care  of  my  clothing  in  good  style,  and  when 
we  were  in  camp,  attending  to  my  two  horses  in  a  very 
satisfactory  manner. 

From  Montgomery  I  went  to  Columbia,  South  Carolina, 
where  I  remained  over  for  several  days.  During  my  stay  in 
this  place  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  very  pleasant 
family,  one  of  the  young  ladies  of  which,  Miss  Lou,  seemed  to 
be  quite  taken  with  me.  I  was  invited  to  the  house,  and 

Ced  a  number  of  agreeable  hours  there,  and  on  parting,  Miss 
gave  me  her  address,  requesting  me  to  write  to  her,  and 
pinned  a  small  C.  S.  flag  on  my  coat. 

On  the  train  bound  north,  there  was  another  quite  jovial 
party,  but,  very  much  to  my  gratification,  not  so  much 
addicted  to  whiskey-drinking,  blasphemy,  and  obscenity,  as 
that  with  which  I  had  started  out.  A  good  deal  of  the  con 
versation  was  about  wives  and  sweethearts,  and  pictures  of 
the  loved  ones  at  home  were  freely  handed  about.  I  was 
rallied  rather  severely  because  I  could  not  show  a  photograph 
of  my  sweetheart,  and  some  of  the  men  intimated  that  I  must 


90  AN   AWKWARD   SITUATION. 

be  a  poor  kind  of  a  man  not  to  be  able  to  find  a  girl  to 
exchange  photographs  with  me.  I  took  the  sharp  things  they 
thought  fit  to  say  of  me  in  good  part,  and  replied  that  I  did 
not  doubt  of  my  ability  to  get  a  sweetheart  soon  enough  when 
I  wanted  one. 

A  LADY'S  MAN. 

Before  the  journey  was  ended,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  prove 
myself  as  good  a  lady's  man  as  the  best  of  them,  for  at 
Lynchburg,  where  we  were  compelled  to  remain  over  all 
night,  on  taking  the  train  for  Richmond,  an  elderly  gentleman 
stepped  up,  and  after  inquiring  my  destination,  asked  if  I 
could  take  charge  of  some  ladies.  I  replied  that  I  would  do 
so  with  pleasure ;  but  was  rather  taken  aback  when  I  found 
myself  placed  in  the  position  of  escort  to  five  women  and  two 
children.  I  could  not  imagine  what  induced  the  old  gentle 
man  to  pick  out  a  little  fellow  like  me,  when  so  many  much 
larger,  older,  and  more  experienced  ofiicers  were  present, 
some  of  whom  were  greatly  my  superiors  in  rank.  I  was 
dreadfully  embarrassed,  but  resolved  to  play  the  gallant  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  although  my  heart  was  in  my  throat,  and  I 
could  scarcely  find  voice  to  announce  myself  as  Lieutenant 
Buford,  when  he  inquired  my  name  for  the  purpose  of  intro 
ducing  me. 

I  was  about  to  inquire  whether  the  ladies  had  their  tickets 
and  checks,  when  the  old  gentleman  presented  them,  very 
much  to  my  satisfaction.  Excusing  myself  for  a  few  moments, 
I  went  to  attend  to  checking  my  own  baggage.  While  I  was 
engaged  in  this  occupation,  an  officer  of  my  party,  who  was 
tolerably  full  of  liquor,  approached,  and  slapping  me  on  the 
back,  exclaimed,  "  You're  a  lucky  fellow  to  fall  in  with  such  a 
nice  lot  of  feminines  ;  won't  you  introduce  me  ?  " 

"  Not  unless  the  ladies  give  their  consent,"  I  replied.  "  If 
they  are  willing,  and  a  good  opportunity  offers,  I  have  no 
objections." 

Just  then  the  bell  rang,  and  I  hastened  to  escort  the  ladies 
to  the  car.  My  tipsy  friend,  who  was  determined  to  show 
his  gallantry  at  all  hazards,  whether  his  services  were  agreea 
ble  or  not,  stood  ready  to  lend  his  assistance ;  but  as  he  could 
not  but  make  himself  offensive  in  the  condition  he  was  in.  I 
determined  to  snub  him  so  completely  that  he  would  not  have 
the  temerity  to  intrude  on  us  again.  Drawing  myself  up  to 
my  full  height,  and  putting  on  as  severe  a  manner  as  I  could 


MORE   EMBARASSMENTS.  91 

command,  I  said,  "  Excuse  me,  sir,  but  these  ladies  are  under 
my  charge,  and  I  am  able  to  take  care  of  them  without 
assistance.77 

He  gave  me  a  rather  defiant  look,  but  otherwise  took  this 
snub  quietly  enough,  and  went  into  another  car,  while  I  joined 
the  ladies  feeling  several  inches  taller,  and  with  an  increased 
confidence  in  myself. 

We  were  soon  under  way,  and  had  a  pleasant  enough  ride, 
or  at  least  it  would  have  been  pleasant  enough  had  I  not  been 
tormented  with  the  fear  that  they  would  penetrate  my  dis 
guise,  and  discover  that  I  was  not  what  I  pretended  to  be. 
No  suspicions  were  excited,  however,  and  we  finally  arrived 
at  Richmond  without  anything  having  happened  to  mar  the 
enjoyment  of  the  journey.  On  alighting  from  the  cars,  I  pro 
cured  carriages  to  convey  the  several  members  of  the  party 
to  their  destination  ;  two  of  the  ladies,  however,  accompanied 
me  to  the  Ballard  House,  where  I  obtained  rooms  for  them. 
The  youngest  of  my  newly-found  female  friends,  —  a  very 
pretty  girl,  who  seemed  to  have  taken  quite  a  fancy  to  me,  — 
had  the  room  adjoining  mine,  and  I  had  scarcely  established 
myself  in  my  new  quarters,  when  a  waiter  knocked  at  the 
door  and  handed  me  a  card  from  her,  asking  me  to  escort  her 
to  supper.  I  laughed  to  myself  at  this,  and  fancying  that  I 
had  succeeded  in  making  another  conquest,  determined  to  get 
myself  up  in  the  best  style  I  could,  and  to  do  credit  to  the 
uniform  I  wore  by  showing  her  that  her  appreciation  was  not 
misapplied.  I  dressed  myself  in  my  best  apparel,  and,  after 
a  visit  to  the  barber's,  I  was  ready  to  play  the  gallant  in  the 
best  possible  manner. 

AN  EMBARRASSING  POSITION. 

It  was  all  well  enough  while  I  was  pacing  the  corridors 
of  the  hotel  with  mademoiselle  on  my  arm,  but  I  confess 
that  my  heart  failed  me  when  we  entered  the  dining-room, 
and  I  fancied  that  everybody  was  looking  at  us.  When  the 
big  steward,  advancing  towards  us  with  his  politest  bow, 
said,  "  Lieutenant,  step  this  way  with  your  lady,7'  and  then 
turning  to  one  of  the  waiters,  told  him  to  attend  to  this 
gentleman  and  lady,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  every  eye  in  the 
room  was  fixed  on  me.  I  was  a  rather  conspicuous  object,  it 
is  true,  for  my  uniform,  made  of  the  best  cloth,  and  trimmed 
with  buttons  and  gold  lace,  was  well  calculated  to  attract  atten- 


92  A   RENEWAL    OF   ACQUAINTANCES. 

tion,  while  the  lady  on  my  arm  being  rather  taller  than  myself, 
made  me  even  more  an  object  for  the  curious  to  gaze  at  than 
if  I  had  been  alone.  The  probabilities,  however,  are,  that  I 
imagined  myself  to  be  creating  a  much  greater  sensation 
than  I  was,  and  it  was  not  a  great  while  before  I  became 
accustomed  to  be  stared  at,  and  learned  not  to  mind.  My 
feelings  on  entering  the  dining-room,  however,  were  not  the 
less  unpleasant  for  being  imaginary,  and  I  was  in  no  mood  to 
develop  my  talents  as  a  conversationalist  for  the  delectation 
of  my  companion. 

The  young  lady  was  nothing  daunted  by  my  silence,  and 
chattered  away  at  a  great  rate  on  all  imaginable  subjects,  and 
finally  succeeded  in  putting  me  somewhat  at  my  ease.  I  was 
just  beginning  to  feel  a  little  comfortable,  when  in  came 
several  persons,  my  friend,  the  major,  among  them,  whom  I 
had  met  in  Memphis.  They  sat  down  nearly  opposite  to  us, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  room.  I  could  see  by  their  glances 
in  our  direction,  and  by  the  laughing  manner  in  which  they 
conversed,  that  they  were  discussing  my  lady  and  me,  and  I 
tried  all  I  could  to  avoid  noticing  them.  The  major,  however, 
at  length  caught  my  eye  and  saluted  me,  and  from  a  motion 
he  made,  I  was  dreadfully  afraid  that  he  intended  to  come 
over  and  join  us.  My  lady  at  length  finished  her  supper, 
much  to  my  relief,  and  I  hurried  her  out  of  the  room  as  fast 
as  I  could,  and  repaired  to  the  drawing-room,  where  I  excused 
myself  on  the  plea  that  I  had  urgent  business  to  at-tend  to, 
as  I  intended  leaving  the  city  on  the  first  train.  She  seemed 
extremely  reluctant  to  part  company  with  me,  and  would  not 
let  me  go  until  I  promised  to  see  her  again  before  I  left  the  city. 
In  bidding  her  good  night,  she  extended  her  hand  ;  and  when 
I  took  it,  she  gave  mine  a  squeeze,  that  indicated  as  plain  as 
words  that  a  trifle  more  forwardness  on  my  part  would  not 
be  disagreeable.  I  was  a  little  bit  disgusted  with  her  very 
evident  desire  to  capture  me,  and  was  very  glad  to  get  her 
off  my  hands,  my  determination  on  parting  being  not  to  see 
her  again  if  I  could  avoid  doing  so. 

As  I  strode  down  the  hall,  I  was  overhauled  by  my  Memphis 
friends,  who  were  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  asked  me  all  kinds 
of  questions  about  myself,  affairs  in  Memphis,  the  operations 
of  the  Army  of  the  West,  and  other  matters  of  similar  interest. 
A  good  deal  of  the  information  I  gave  them  was  fictitious, 
while  the  rest  was  made  up  from  telegrams,  the  newspapers, 
and  conversations  I  had  overheard;  but  it  answered  the 


AN  ASTONISHMENT.  93 

purposes  of  the  moment,  and  was  probably  about  as  near  the 
truth  as  the  greater  part  of  the  war  talk  that  was  going  on 
around  us.  I  told  them  that  I  intended  joining  Johnston's 
army,  and  that  I  was  bound  to  have  a  hand  in  the  fight  that 
was  coming  off,  and  was  anxious  to  get  to  the  front  as  soon  as 
possible. 

After  some  further  conversation  of  this  kind,  the  major 
proposed  that  we  should  take  a  carriage  and  see  the  city. 
We  accordingly  drove  around  for  a  while,  seeing  the  sights, 
and  visiting  numerous  bar-rooms  and  gambling-houses,  and 
before  a  great  while  the  major,  who  took  rather  big  drinks 
every  time,  was  very  much  inclined  to  be  noisy,  and  to  insist 
upon  our  making  a  night  of  it  with  him.  I  had  no  desire  for 
his  company  any  longer  than  I  could  help,  and  I  especially  did 
not  desire  to  go  through  with  the  particular  kind  of  perform 
ance  which  he  called  "making  a  night  of  it;  "  so,  resisting  his 
his  importunities,  I  invited  another  member  of  the  party,  a 
captain,  and  a  very  gentlemanly,  quiet  sort  of  a  fellow,  to  play 
a  game  of  cards  with  me.  The  major,  finding  that  he  could 
not  get  us  to  join  him,  started  off  to  hunt  other  companions, 
while  the  captain  and  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  where  we 
played  "  old  sledge,"  until  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

On  going  to  my  room,  I  found  a  note  from  my  lady  friend, 
requesting  me  to  visit  her  in  her  chamber.  This  considerably 
astonished  me,  and  assuredly  did  not  increase  my  good 
opinion  of  her.  I  was  almost  tempted,  however,  to  comply, 
just  for  the  sake  of  hearing  what  she  had  to  say  to  me,  but 
wisely  concluded  that,  situated  as  I  was,  it  would  be  more 
prudent  to  avoid  any  further  acquaintance  with  such  a  forward 
specimen  of  my  sex. 

I  slept  late  the  next  morning,  having  forgotten  to  give 
directions  for  being  called,  and  found,  much  to  my  satisfaction, 
on  inquiring  of  the  clerk,  that  my  lady  had  left  before  I  was 
out  of  bed.  After  breakfast,  I  ordered  Bob  to  have  every 
thing  ready  for  our  departure  by  the  six  o'clock  train.  While 
strolling  about  the  street,  I  was  accosted  by  an  officer,  who 
asked  me  to  show  my  papers.  I  told  him  that  I  had  none,  but 
that  I  was  an  independent,  and  had  recruited,  and  put  in  the 
field,  at  my  own  expense,  a  battalion  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-six  men.  This  seemed  to  highly  delight  him,  for  he 
shook  me  warmly  by  the  hand,  asked  me  to  step  over  to 
his  office,  where  he  could  furnish  me  with  transportation, 
and  otherwise  showed  a  desire  to  be  of  service  to  me.  I 


94  ON  THE  EOAD  ONCE  MORE. 

thanked  him,  but  declined  the  offer,  on  the  plea  that  I  pro 
posed  to  pay  my  own  way. 

During  the  day  I  bought  two  horses  and  shipped  them, 
and  provided  myself  with  a  number  of  articles  necessary  for 
the  campaign  upon  which  I  was  about  entering.  Returning 
to  the  hotel,  I  paid  my  bill,  had  a  lunch  put  up,  and  my 
baggage  got  ready,  while  Bob  blacked  my  boots  and  brushed 
my  coat.  As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  however,  I  missed  the  six 
o'clock  train,  and  was  consequently  compelled  to  remain 
another  night  in  Richmond.  The  next  morning,  however, 
Bob  and  I  were  off  in  the  five  o'clock  train,  the  darkey  ap 
parently  as  anxious  as  myself  to  see  what  fighting  really 
was. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN.  ^ 

Joining  the  Army  in  the  Field.  —  Trying  to  get  a  Commission.  —  The 
Skirmish  at  Blackburn's  Ford.  —  Burying  the  Dead.  —  I  attach  my 
self  to  General  Bee's  Command.  —  The  Night  before  the  Battle  of  Bull 
Run.  — A  sound  Sleep.  —  The  Morning  of  the  Battle.  — A  magnificent 
Scene.  —  The  Approach  of  the  Enemy. —  Commencement  of  the  Fight. 

—  An  Exchange  of  Compliments  between  old  Friends.  —  Bee's  Order 
to  fall  back,  and  his  Rally.  —  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson.  —  The  Battle  at 
its   fiercest.  —  The   Scene  at   Midday.  —  Huge  Clouds  of  Dust  and 
Smoke.  —  Some   tough   Fighting.  —  How   Beauregard  and  Johnston 
rallied  their  Men.  —  The  Contest  for  the  Possession  of  the  Plateau.  — 
Bee  and  Bartow  killed.  —  Arrival  of  Kirby  Smith  with  Re-enforcements. 

—  The  Victory  Won.  —  Application  for  Promotion.  —  Return  to  Rich 
mond. 

WAS  now  about  to  enter  upon  the  realization 
of  all  my  dreams,  to  see  some  real  warfare,  to 
engage  in  real  battles,  to  do  some  real  fighting, 
and,  as  I  fondly  hoped,  to  have  some  opportuni 
ties  of  distinguishing  myself  in  a  signal  manner. 
I  was  never  in  better  health  and  spirit  than  on 
that  bright  summer  morning,  when  I  left  Richmond 
for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  forces  of  the  Confed 
eracy  in  the  face  of  the  enemy ;  and  the  nearer  we 
approached  our  destination,  the  more  elated  did  I  be 
come  at  the  prospect  before  me  of  being  able  to  prove 
mysejf  as  good  a  fighter  as  any  of  the  gallant  men  who  had 
taken  up  arms  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  Southern  independence. 
I  had  only  one  fear,  and  that  was,  that  I  should  be  stopped  on 
account  of  not  having  the  proper  papers ;  but  my  motto  was, 
"  Nothing  venture,  nothing  have  ; "  and  I  was  bent  on  facing  the 
thing  through,  and  trusting  to  luck  to  bring  me  out  all  right. 
Fortunately  I  had  no  trouble  of  any  kind,  and  arrived  safely 
at  Clifton,  —  a  supply -station  about  a  dozen  miles  from  the 
headquarters  of  the  army  in  the  field. 

At  Clifton  I  bought  a  couple  of  fine  horses,  and  on  the  15th 
of  July  set  out  for  headquarters,  with  a  view  of  being  assigned 
to  a  command  where  I  should  have  a  chance  to  see  some  fight 
ing.  I  sought  an  interview  with  a  prominent  general,  but  he 

9C 
t^ 


96  THE  AFFAIR  AT  BLACKBURN'S  FORD. 

was  in  rather  a  crusty  humor ;  and  as  he  did  not  seem  inclined 
to  talk  with  me,  I  concluded  not  to  bother  him,  but  to  take  my 
chances  as  matters  might  shape  themselves  for  the  accomplish 
ment  of  my  designs.  His  adjutant  was  more  polite,  and  de 
sired  to  employ  me  as  a  courier ;  but  this  did  not  suit  my 
notions,  and  I  consequently  declined.  I  told  him  that  I  was 
an  independent,  paying  my  own  expenses,  and  that  the  only 
thing  I  wanted  was  an  opportunity  to  take  a  hand  in  the 
coming  fight.  I  suppose  he  thought  that  I  was  entirely  too 
independent  for  him,  for  he  said  no  more,  but  turned  away, 
and  went  about  other  affairs. 

TRYING  TO  GET  A  COMMISSION. 

General  Beauregard  was  in  command  of  the  entire  army ; 
but  I  felt  a  hesitation  in  approaching  him,  especially  after  the 
rebuff  I  had  just  received.  Thinking  that  the  shortest  way  to 
get  what  I  wanted  was  to  obtain  a  regular  commission,  I 
offered  an  officer,  with  whom  I  became  acquainted,  five  hun 
dred  dollars  for  his.  He  would  not  sell,  however ;  and  I  then 
went  over  to  Brigadier  General  Bonham,  who  was  holding 
Mitchell's  Ford,  and  introduced  myself  to  him.  General  Bon- 
ham  looked  at  me  sharply,  and  asked  what  company  I  be 
longed  to. 

"  To  none,"  I  replied.  "  I  belong  wherever  there  is  work 
to  do." 

"  Well,"  said  Bonham,  "  you  are  the  right  sort  to  have 
around  when  a  fight  is  going  on.  If  you  stay  here  a  little 
while,  I  reckon  you  will  be  able  to  find  plenty  of  work." 

I  took  this  as  a  hint  that  I  might  make  myself  at  home, 
and,  bowing  myself  out  of  the  general's  presence,  went  to 
look  after  my  boy  Bob.  The  darkey  was  just  beginning  to 
have  some  appreciation  of  what  fighting  was  really  like,  and 
was  badly  scared.  I  told  him  that  if  he  ran  off  and  left  me,  I 
would  kill  him  if  I  ever  caught  him  again ;  which  threat  had 
its  desired  effect,  for  he  stuck  to  me  through  thick  and  thin. 

THE  SKIRMISH  AT  BLACKBURN'S  FORD. 

^ 

At  half  past  twelve  o'clock,  on  the  18th,  the-  enemy  made  a 
sharp  attack,  but  did  not  do  any  great  damage.  Kemper's 
battery,  which  occupied  the  ridge  on  the  left  of  the  Centre- 
ville  road,  performed  efficient  service  in  holding  the  Yankees 


A  PRELUDE  TO  THE  BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN.        97 

in  check.  Soon,  however,  the  enemy  advanced  in  strong 
force,  and  attacked  General  Long-street's  brigade  at  Black 
burn's  Ford.  Our  pickets  fell  slowly  back  across  the  Ford, 
which  was  crossed  by  our  skirmishers,  and  for  some  time  a 
rapid  but  irregular  firing  was  kept  up  between  the  two  contend 
ing  armies.  Longstreet,  however,  soon  was  in  a  condition  to 
meet  the  attack  squarely ;  and  bringing  about  three  thousand 
infantry  into  position,  he  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  enemy 
after  a  sharp  skirmish  of  nearly  an  hour's  duration.  Later, 
Longstreet  was  re-enforced  by  Brigadier  General  Early's  bri 
gade,  and  the  enemy  finding  us  too  strong  for  them,  was  forced 
to  retreat  from  the  field.  As  they  broke  and  ran,  1  fired  a  last 
shot  at  them  with  a  dead  man's  musket,  which  I  picked  up. 
During  the  greater  part  of  this  fight;  the  men  belonging  to  the 
two  armies  who  engaged  in  it  were  often  not  more  than  a  few 
feet  from  each  other,  and  it  seemed  more  like  a  series  of  duels 
than  anything  such  as  I  had  imagined  a  battle  would  be.  It 
was  during  this  affair  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with 
a  man  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about,  —  Colonel  J.  B.  Walton, 
of  the  Washington  artillery.  He  was  a  brave  man,  and  a 
very  genial,  pleasant  fellow. 

This  skirmish  was  but  the  prelude  to  the  great  battles  of 
Manassas  or  Bull's  Run,  which  was  fought  on  the  21st  of 
July,  1861.  It  served,  however,  to  initiate  me,  and  to  make 
me  impatient  to  see  an  engagement  of  real  importance,  in 
which  I  should  have  an  opportunity  to  make  a  first-rate  display 
of  my  fighting  qualities.  I  was  the  more  anxious  for  a  big 
fight  soon,  as  I  had  been  placed  temporarily  in  command  of  a 
company,  the  senior  officer  of  which  had  been  killed,  and  I  was 
afraid  that  if  a  fight  was  long  delayed  I  should  be  superseded, 
and  should  be  compelled  to  lose  my  best  chance  of  distinguish 
ing  myself.  I  had  no  occasion,  however,  to  be  afraid  of  a  fight 
not  coming  off,  for  we  had  ample  information  of  all  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy,  and  knew  that  he  was  about  to  advance 
upon  us  in  full  force,  so  that  the  conflict  was  likely  to  begin 
at  almost  any  moment.  I  was  able,  therefore,  to  take  part  in 
the  first  great  battle  of  the  war,  under  the  best  possible  aus 
pices,  and  to  thus  accomplish  what  had  been  one  of  the  great 
objects  of  my  ambition  from  my  earliest  childhood.  There 
may  have  been  men  who  did  harder  fighting  at  Bull  Run  than 
myself,  but  no  one  went  through  the  fight  with  a  stouter 
heart,  or  with  a  greater  determination  to  behave  valiantly, 
and,  if  possible,  to  give  the  enemy  a  sound  thrashing,  if  only 
7 


98  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  BATTLE. 

for  the  sake  of  affording  him  an  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
job  he  had  undertaken  in  attempting  to  coerce  the  Southern 
people. 

BURYING  THE'  DEAD. 

On  the  18th  I  assisted,  with  the  rest,  to  bury  the  dead,  my 
boy,  Bob,  rendering  us  efficient  service  in  the  performance  of 
this  duty.  When  night  came  I  was  tired  out,  and,  lying 
down  on  the  bare  ground,  slept  soundly  until  four  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  When  I  awoke,  I  was  weary  and  sore  in  all 
my  limbs  through  the  unusual  exertions  I  had  been  compelled 
to  make,  and  the  exposure  to  the  hot  sun  in  the  day  time,  and 
the  damp  air  and  cold  ground  at  night.  I  was  not  sick,  how 
ever  ;  and  as  I  had  no  doubt  that  I  should  soon  get  used  to  this 
kind  of  rough  life,  I  never  thought  of  giving  up,  especially  as 
a  great  battle  was  impending,  upon  taking  part  in  which  my 
heart  was  bent. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  19th,  I  was  in  my  boots,  and  ready  to 
march.  Passing  through  Ashby's  Gap,  we  reached  the  little 
town  of  Piedmont,  on  the  Manassas  Gap  Railroad,  where  we 
halted.  On  the  20th,  General  Johnston  arrived  at  Manassas 
about  noon,  and  was  followed  by  two  Georgia  regiments  and 
Jackson's  brigade  of  gallant  Virginians.  Then  came  Bernard 
E.  Bee,  with  the  fourth  Alabama  regiment  and  the  second 
regiment,  and  three  companies  of  the  eleventh  regiment  of 
Mississippians.  On  account  of  some  delay,  or  detention  on  the 
railroad,  it  was  now  found  necessary  to  hold  a  council  of  war, 
and  to  make  some  changes  in  the  plans  already  aranged. 

When  the  troops  were  once  more  in  motion,  I  followed 
Bee's  line  through  a  dense  wood,  as  far  as  Sudley's  Road. 
General  Bee,  at  this  place,  appointed  me  a  special  messenger, 
and  sent  me  with  an  order  to  Colonel  Wheat,  of  the  Louisiana 
battalion,  and  also  to  General  Evans,  whose  command  was 
about  six  hundred  yards  distant.  Evans  was  an  officer  whom 
I  had  heard  much  talked  of,  and  whom  I  greatly  desired  to 
see.  He  was  commonly  designated,  by  the  officers  and  men, 
as  "  Shanks,"  and  he  looked  very  much  as  if  the  kind  of  liquor 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  drinking  did  not  agree  with  him. 

It  was  well  known  that  the  Federals  intended  to  attack  us 
in  force  on  Sunday,  the  21st,  and  preparations  were  made  to 
give  them  the  right  kind  of  a  reception  when  they  appeared. 
Although  full  of  excitement  at  the  prospect  of  taking  part  in 
a  great  battle,  one  that,  perhaps,  would  enable  us  to  secure 


EAGER   FOR   THE   FRAY.  99 

the  independence  of  the  South  at  a  single  blow,  —  for  the 
skirmishes  in  which  I  had  thus  far  been  engaged  only  seemed 
to  whet  my  appetite  for  fighting,  and  to  make  me  more  than 
ever  desirous  of  seeing  what  a  really  desperate-fought  battle 
was  like,  —  I  succumbed  to  the  fatigues  I  had  undergone,  and 
passed  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  before  the  terrific  conflict 
at  Bull  Run,  in  a  dreamless  sleep.  I  had  fancied  that  sleep 
would  be  impossible  to  me  under  such  circumstances;  but  a  very 
little  experience  as  a  soldier  was  sufficient  for  me  to  be  able 
to  fall  into  a  soldier's  way  of  doing  things,  and  I  soon  learned 
to  take  my  rest  as  naturally  and  composedly  upon  the  bare 
ground  as  if  on  the  most  downy  couch,  and  not  even  the  ex 
citements  and  anxieties  incident  to  an  impending  battle  could 
prevent  my  tired  eyes  from  closing  after  a  long  and  fatiguing 
day  passed  under  a  broiling  July  sun. 

THE  MORNING  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  battle  I  was  awake  at 
dawn,  and  ready  to  play  my  part  in  the  great  drama  which  was 
about  to  begin ;  and  although  some  of  the  men  around  me  had 
been  disposed  to  laugh  at  the  efforts  of  the  little  dandified  inde 
pendent  to  get  a  chance  to  display  his  valor,  not  one  of  them  was 
more  eager  for  the  fight  than  myself,  or  was  more  bent  upon 
doing  deeds  of  heroism.  If  I  had  allowed  myself  to  be  irritated 
by  snubs  from  officers,  who  behaved  as  if  they  thought  the  re 
sults  of  the  war  depended  upon  them  alone,  I  should  have  gone 
back  to  Richmond  in  disgust  several  days  before  the  battle 
came  off,  and  should  have  resumed  the  garb  of  my  sex,  with  a 
determination  never  to  figure  as  a  man  again.  I  was  not  to 
be  bluffed  by  anybody,  however;  and  having  come  thus  farj;o 
see  and  to  take  a  hand  in  a  great  battle,  I  had  no  thought  of 
turning  back  for  any  cause,  or  under  any  circumstances,  no 
matter  what  might  be  said  or  thought  of  me. 

I  labored  under  some  disadvantages  in  not  having  a  regular 
commission,  and  not  being  attached  to  a  regular  command. 
This  exposed  me  to  slights  that  would  otherwise  not  have  been 
put  upon  me,  and  prevented  officers,  who  would,  under  some 
circumstances,  have  gladly  taken  advantage  of  my  readiness 
to  attend  faithfully  to  any  task  assigned  me,  to  avail  them 
selves  of  my  services.  On  the  other  hand,  my  being  an  in 
dependent,  enabled  me,  to  a  great  extent,  to  choose  my  own 
>osition  in  the  battle,  and  I  probably,  therefore,  had  a  better 


100  IN  BATTLJB  ARRAY. 

opportunity  of  distinguishing  myself  than  I  should  have  had 
otherwise.  I  was  especially  bent  upon  showing  some  of  them, 
who  were  disposed  to  smile  at  me  on  account  of my  petite  figure 
and  jaunty  air,  that  I  was  as  good  a  man  as  any  one  of  them,  and 
was  able  to  face  the  enemy  as  valiantly.  This  I  did  show 
them  before  the  day  was  over,  and  I  was  highly  elated  at  the 
commendations  which  some  of  the  best  soldiers  bestowed  upon 
the  "  plucky  little  devil,"  as  they  called  me. 

By  the  time  it  was  fairly  daylight,  the  preparations  for 
meeting  the  enemy  were  well  advanced,  and  the  sun  rose  in 
all  his  majesty  upon  a  host  of  men  drawn  up  in  battle  array, 
—  the  brave  among  them  anxious  for  the  fray  to  begin,  the 
cowards  —  and  there  were  plenty  of  them  in  both  armies, — 
trembling  in  their  boots,  and  eager  for  a  pretext  to  sneak' 
away,  .and  hide  themselves  from  the  coming  danger.  The 
morning  was  a  beautiful  one,  although  it  gave  promise  of  a 
sweltering  day ;  and  the  scene  presented  to  my  eyes,  as  I  sur 
veyed  the  field,  was  one  of  marvellous  beauty  and  grandeur. 
I  cannot  pretend  to  express  in  words  what  I  felt,  as  I  found 
myself  one  among  thousands  of  combatants,  who  were  about 
to  engage  in  a  deadly  and  desperate  struggle.  The  supreme 
moment  of  my  life  had  arrived,  and  all  the  glorious  aspirations 
of  my  romantic  girlhood  were  on  the  point  of  realization.  I 
was  elated  beyond  measure,  although  cool-headed  enough,  and 
watched  the  preparations  going  on  around  me  with  eager  in 
terest.  Fear  was  a  word  I  did  not  know  the  meaning  of;  and 
as  I  noted  the  ashy  faces,  and  the  trembling  limbs  of  some  of 
the  men  about  me,  I  almost  wished  that  I  could  feel  a  little 
fear,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  sympathizing  with  the  poor  devils. 
I  do  not  say  this  for  brag,  for  I  despise  braggarts  as  much  as  I 
do  cowards ;  but,  in  a  narrative  like  this,  the  reader  has  a 
right  to  know  what  my  feelings,  as  well  as  my  impressions, 
were,  upon  so  important  an  occasion  as  my  appearance  as  a 
combatant  upon  the  battle-field,  where  the  Confederate  troops 
first  gave  the  enemy  a  taste  of  their  genuine  quality,  and 
achieved  their  first  great  victory. 

THE  ADVANCE  OF  THE  ENEMY. 

As  the  hot  July  sun  mounted  upwards  through  the  almost 
cloudless  sky,  and  the  mists  of  the  morning  disappeared  before 
his  ardent  beams,  the  approach  of  the  enemy  could  be  dis 
tinctly  traced  by  the  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  tramping  of 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  BULL  KUN.     101 

thousands  of  feet,  and,  once  in  a  great  while,  the  gleam  of  the 
bayonets  was  discerned  among  the  heavy  clumps  of  timber 
that  covered  the  undulating  plain  which  the  commanders  of 
the  armies  of  the  South  and  the  North  had  selected  for  their 
first  trial  of  strategy  and  of  strength.  The  desultory  firing 
with  which  the  battle  opened  soon  was  followed  by  rapid 
volleys,  and  ere  the  morning  was  far  advanced,  the  sharp 
rattling  of  the  musketry,  the  roar  of  the  artillery,  and  the 
yelling  of  the  soldiers,  developed  into  an  incessant  tumult; 
while  along  the  entire  line,  for  miles,  arose  clouds  of  yellow- 
dust  and  blue  smoke,  as  the  desperateness  of  the  conflict  in 
creased,  and  the  men  on  either  side  became  excited  with  the 
work  they  had  in  hand. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  position  in  which  fortune 
had  placed  me  was  to  be  the  chief  point  of  the  Federal  attack, 
and  that  my  immediate  comrades  would  be  compelled  to  bear 
the  brunt  of  the  battle.  The  gallant  Colonel  Wheat  was 
severely  wounded  early  in  the  day,  but  he  succeeded  in 
checking  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  in  maintaining  his 
position,  until  General  Bee,  on  being  informed  of  the  peril  he 
was  in,  advanced  to  the  Henry  House  with  the  Alabama  regi 
ment  and  Imboden's  artillery,  and  from  thence  crossed  the 
valley  to  the  support  of  Evans's  command.  The  Federals 
were  in  strong  force,  there  being,  probably,  fifteen  thousand 
immediately  in  front  of  us,  and  they  followed  up  their  first 
sharp  attack  with  some  desperate  fighting.  The  commands 
of  Bee,  Evans,  and  Bartow  were  all  soon  actively  engaged  in 
resisting  the  advance  of  vastly  superior  numbers,  and  had 
quite  as  much  as  they  could  attend  to  to  do  it.  I  attached 
myself  to  my  favorite  officer,  Bee,  and  remained  with  his  comr 
mand  during  the  entire  day. 

BEE  OKDERS  HIS  MEN  TO  FALL  BACK. 

The  Federal  artillery,  which  sent  its  shell  showering  over" 
us,  and  bursting  in  our  ranks,  creating  terrible  slaughter,  was 
commanded  by  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  Ricketts.  I  did  the 
~>est  I  could  to  give  him  as  good  as  he  sent,  for  the  sake  of 
old  times  when  we  were  friends,  and  when  we  neither  of  us 
imagined  that  we  would  some  day  be  opposed  to  each  other 
>n  the  battle-field.  The  Confederates,  although  greatly  out- 
mmbered,  succeeded  for  a  long  time  in  maintaining  their 
round,  in  spite  of  the  odds  against  them,  and  again  and  again 


102  A   BREATHING   SPELL. 

pierced  through  the  enemy's  lines.  Our  men  suffered  ter 
ribly,  however,  the  seventh  Georgia  and  fourth  Alabama  regi 
ments,  especially,  being  very  badly  cut  up.  At  length,  despite 
all  our  efforts,  Bee  was  compelled  to  give  the  order  for  us  to 
fall  back,  the  enemy  having  been  heavily  re-enforced  by  the 
commands  of  Sherman  and  Keyes. 

The  Federals,  doubtless,  thought  that  the  victory  was  theirs 
when  they  saw  us  in  retreat.  It  was  a  terrible  moment,  and 
my  heart  failed  me  when  I  heard  Bee's  order.  I  was  wrought 
up  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement,  while  the  fight  was  going  on, 
that  I  had  no  comprehension  whatever  of  the  value  of  the 
movements  being  made  by  the  different  commanders.  I  only 
saw  the  enemy  before  me,  and  was  inspired  by  an  eager 
desire  to  conquer  him.  I  forgot  that  I  was  but  a  single 
figure  in  a  great  military  scheme ;  and  as,  while  we  stood 
face  to  face  with  the  foe,  every  man  on  the  other  side  be 
came  for  the  moment  my  personal  enemy,  whom  I  was  furious 
to  overcome,  so,  when  by  the  general's  command,  we  were 
compelled  to  fall  back,  I  was  overcome  with  rage  and  indig 
nation,  and  felt  all  the  shame  and  mortification  of  a  personal 
defeat. 

"STONEWALL"  JACKSON. 

I  soon,  however,  saw  the  object  Bee  had  in  view  in  his 
momentary  retreat,  when  he  rallied  his  men  in  the  rear  of  a 
house,  and  gave  them  a  breathing  spell,  until  Wade  Hamp 
ton's  legion  and  Jackson's  brigade  could  come  to  their  assist 
ance.  This  movement  on  the  part  of  Bee  afforded  me  an 
opportunity  to  cool  off  a  little,  and  to  observe  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  tide  of  battle  more  critically.  I  ere  long  was  able  to 
understand  the  general  plan  upon  which  the  action  was  being 
conducted,  and  to  view  the  combatants  as  masses  to  be  wielded 
in  a  certain  way  for  the  accomplishment  of  definite  objects, 
and  not  as  a  mere  howling  mob,  bent  only  on  a  momentary  suc 
cess.  From  this  point,  therefore,  the  battle  became  more  in 
teresting  than  ever,  and  while  none  the  less  exciting,  simply 
as  a  personal  adventure,  —  for  my  spirit  rose  and  sank  as  vic 
tory  or  defeat  seemed  likely  to  rest  upon  our  banners,  —  I  Was 
more  under  the  dominion  of  my  reason,  and  less  of  my  pas 
sions,  than  I  had  been  when  the  fight  commenced. 

Bee  rallied  his  men,  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  saying,  "  My 
boys,  at  them  again  !  Victory  or  death  !  See  how  Jackson 
.stands  there  like  a  stone  wall."  This  last  expression  seemed 


104  A   SUBLIME  SPECTACLE. 

to  please  the  men  mightily,  for  they  took  it  up  immediately ; 
and  with  a  cheer  for  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson,  they  made  another 
dash  at  the  enemy. 

At  noon  the  battle  was  at  its  fiercest,  and  the  scene  was 
grand  beyond  description.  The  simile  that  came  into  my 
mind  was  the  great  Desert  of  Sahara,  with  a  broiling  sun 
overhead,  and  immense  whirlwinds  of  sand  rolling  along 
over  the  plain  between  heaven  and  earth.  The  red  dust  from 
the  parched  and  sun-dried  roads  arose  in  clouds  in  every 
direction,  while  the  smoke  from  the  artillery  'and  musketry 
slowly  floated  aloft  in  huge,  fantastic  columns,  marking  the 
places  where  the  battle  was  being  fought  with  most  bitterness. 
The  dry  and  motionless  air  was  choking  to  the  nostrils,  from 
the  dust  and  smoke  which  filled  it,  while  the  pitiless  July  sun 
poured  its  hottest  rays  upon  the  parched  and  weary  comba 
tants.  It  was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten,  —  one  of  those 
magnificent  spectacles  that  cannot  be  imagined,  and  that  no 
description,  no  matter  how  eloquent,  can  do  justice  to.  I 
would  not  have  missed  it  for  the  wealth  of  the  world,  and  was 
more  than  repaid  for  all  that  I  had  undergone,  and  all  the 
risks  to  my  person  and  rny  womanly  reputation  that  I  incurred, 
in  being  not  only  a  spectator,  but  an  actor,  in  such  a  sublime, 
living  drama. 

THE  PINCH  OF  THE  FIGHT. 

At  the  moment  when  Bee  rallied  his  men  for  another  grap 
ple  with  the  enemy,  I  would  have  given  anything  could  I  but 
have  had  the  strength  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  our  opponents, 
and,  by  a  single  blow,  end  the  great  struggle.  Looking  towards 
the  hill  which,  in  the  morning,  had  been  occupied  by  three  of 
our  bravest  and  best  generals — Beauregard,  Johnston,  and 
Bonham  —  and  their  staffs,  I  saw  it  covered  with  men  fighting 
with  desperation ;  all  along  the  valley  were  dense  clouds  of 
dust  and  smoke,  while  the  yells  of  the  excited  soldiery,  and 
the  roar  of  the  guns,  were  almost  deafening. 

Hard  pressed  by  the  greatly  superior  Federal  force,  our 
men  at  several  points  wavered  and  fell  back,  and  at  one  time 
there  was  every  prospect  of  a  panic.  This  disgrace  was 
spared,  however,  largely  by  the  personal  exertions  of  Beaure 
gard  and  Johnston,  who  darted  along  the  line,  and  succeeded 
in  rallying  the  men,  and  in  bringing  them  up  to  their  work 
again.  General  Johnston  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  day  by 
charging  on  the  enemy,  with  the  colors  of  the  fourth  Alabama 


THE  VICTORY  WON.  105 

regiment  at  his  side.  This  was  the  pinch  of  the  fight ;  for  the 
enemy  were  bearing  down  upon  us  with  a  large  force  of  in 
fantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery,  and  the  personal  example  of 
Generals  Beauregard,  Johnston,  and  other  prominent  officers, 
who  plunged  into  the  thickest  of  the  melee,  had  an  immense 
effect  in  encouraging  the  men  to  resist  to  the  last,  no  matter 
what  the  odds  against  them  might  be. 

The  fiercer  the  conflict  grew  the  more  my  courage  rose. 
The  example  of  my  commanders,  the  desire  to  avenge  my 
slaughtered  comrades,  the  salvation  of  the  cause  which*  I  had 
espoused,  all  inspired  me  to  do  my  utmost ;  and  no  man  on  the 
field  that  day  fought  with  more  energy  or  determination  than 
the  woman  who  figured  as  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford. 

At  two  o'clock  the  right  of  Beauregard's  line  was  ordered 
to  advance  —  with  the  exception  of  the  reserves  —  to  recover 
the  plateau,  for  the  possession  of  which  both  armies  had  been 
fiercely  contending.  Stonewall  Jackson  succeeded  in  piercing 
the  enemy's  centre,  but  his  troops  suffered 'terribly  in  doing 
so.  Bee,  while  leading  his  fourth  Alabama  regiment  in  a 
charge,  fell  mortally  wounded  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
Henry  House.  Fifty  yards  farther  north,  Bartow  was  shot,  and 
was  caught,  as  he  fell  from  his  horse,  by  General  Gartrell,then 
commanding  the  7th  Georgia,  and  by  his  order  carried  to  the 
rear.  His  last  words  were,  "  Boys,  I  am  killed ;  but  don't 
give  up  the  field."  Colonel  Fisher,  of  the  sixth  North  Caro 
lina  regiment,  was  also  among  the  killed.  He  was  a  noble 
fellow.  The  conflict  now  became  more  bitter  than  ever,  and 
at  one  time  it  seemed  that  we  should  be  compelled  to  succumb 
to  the  fierce  attacks  which  the  enemy  were  making  against 
us.  At  this  crisis,  a  courier  came  up  to  me  with  a  message 
for  General  Johnston,  to  the  effect  that  the  Federals  had 
reached  the  line  of  the  Manassas  Gap  Railroad,  and  were 
marching  on  us  with  a  heavy  force.  Had  this  information 
been  correct,  it  would  have  been  all  up  with  us.  Fortunately, 
however,  the  advancing  troops  were  those  of  Kirby  Smith, 
and  consisted  of  about  two  thousand  infantry  and  Beekman's 
artillery.  The  arrival  of  this  force  decided  the  fate  of  the 
battle,  and  the  Federals  fled,  defeated,  from  the  field,  while 
our  army  fell  back  to  Manassas  Junction. 

After  the  battle,  I  appealed  to  General  Jackson  for  the  pro 
motion  which  I  considered  that  I  had  fully  earned,  and  he 
gave  me  a  recommendation  to  General  Bragg  for  a  recruiting 
commission.  This  I  did  not  care  about,  for  I  thought  that  I 


106  AFTER   THE   BATTLE. 

did  not  need  his t  permission  or  his  aid  to  do  recruiting  duty, 
and  determined  to  wait  and  see  if  something  better  would  not 
offer.  I  accordingly  remained  for  some  time  with  my 'ac 
quaintances  of  the  fifth  and  eighth  Louisiana  regiment,  hoping 
that  another  battle  would  come  off  at  an  early  day.  Finding, 
however,  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  a  fight  very  soon,  and 
becoming  tired  of  inactivity,  I  determined  to  return  to  Rich 
mond,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  whether  it  was  not  possible  for 
me  to  find  some  work  to  do  suited  to  my  abilities. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

AFTER   THE    BATTLE. 

Erroneous  Ideas  about  the  War.  —  Some  of  the  Effects  of  the  Battle  of  Bull 
Run.  —  The  Victory  not  in  all  Respects  a  Benefit  to  the  Cause  of  the 
Confederacy. —  Undue  Elation  of  Soldiers  and  Civilians.  —  Richmond 
demoralized. — A  Quarrel  with  a  drunken  Officer.  —  An  Insult  resented. 
—  I  leave  Richmond.  —  Prospect  of  another  Battle.  —  Cutting  a  Dash  in 
Leesburg.  —  A  little  love  Affair.  —  Stern  Parents.  — A  clandestine  Meet 
ing.  —  Love's  young  Dream.  —  Disappointed  Affections.  —  In  Front  of 
the  Enemy  once  more.  —  A  Battle  expected  to  come  off. 

lHAVE  remarked  in  a  previous  chap 
ter  with  regard  to  the  men  be 
longing  to  the  battalion  which  I 
recruited  in  Arkansas,  that  they 
seemed  to  be  under  the  idea  that 
they  were  going  on  a  pleasant  hol 
iday  excursion,  rather  than  that  they 
were  engaging  in  a  very  serious 
business,  which  would  demand  all 
their  energies,  if  the  object  they  had 
in  view  was  to  be  secured.  I  frank 
ly  confess  that  I  was  not  altogether 
free  from  the  feeling  which  pre 
vailed,  not  merely  with  the  young 
fellows  like  my  Arkansas  recruits, 
who  were  glad  of  any  pretext  for  getting  away  from  their 
rather  dismal  surroundings,  ajid  who  thought  that  fighting  the 
Yankees  would  be  good  fun,  but  with  all  classes  of  society. 
The  expression  constantly  heard,  that  one  Southerner  could 
whip  five  Yankees,  was  not  mere  bounce,  but  it  really  repre 
sented  what  nearly  everybody  thought;  and  very  few  had 
any  doubt  as  to  the  speedy  end  of  the  conflict  that  had  been 
begun,  or  that  it  would  end  in  the  recognition  of  Southern 
independence:  It  took  time  to  convince  our  people  that  they 
had  no  holiday  task  to  perform  ;  but  the  difficulty  of  effectively 
forcing  the  Federal  lines,  in  spite  of  victories  won  by  Con- 

107 


108  DEMORALIZATION. 

federate  arms  in  the  field,  combined  with  the  privations  caused 
by  the  constantly  increasing  efficiency  of  the  blockade,  at 
length  compelled  all  classes  of  people  at  the  South  to  realize 
the  fact  that  they  had  a  tough  job  on  their  hands,  and  that  if 
they  expected  to  obtain  their  independence  it  would  be  neces 
sary  for  them  to  work,  and  to  work  hard  for  it. 

In  many  respects,  the  victory  at  Bull  Run  was  anything  but 
a  benefit  to  the  South.  The  panic  which  overtook  the  Federal 
soldiers,  so  far  from  communicating  itself  to  the  people  of  the 
North,  only  inspired  them  with  a  determination  to  wipe  out 
the  disgrace,  and  they  hurried  men  to  the  front  with  such 
rapidity  and  in  such,  numbers,  that  they  soon  had  a  force  in 
the  field  which  compelled  the  Confederates  to  act  upon  the 
defensive,  and  to  think  about  the  means  of  resisting  invasion 
instead  of  attempting  to  assume  the  aggressive.  On  the  other 
hand,  not  only  the  men  who  fought  at  Bull  Run,  but  the  whole 
South,  were  greatly  elated  at  having  won  the  first  great  battle; 
and,  overestimating  the  importance  of  their  victory,  they 
were  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  idea  that  whipping 
the  Yankees  was  a  remarkable  easy  thing  to  do. 

RELAXATION  IN  DISCIPLINE. 

The  result  of  all  this  was,  that  discipline  in  the  army,  in 
stead  of  being  kept  up  to  the  best  standard,  was  relaxed,  and 
hundreds  of  good  fighting  men,  who  thought  that  the  war  was 
virtually  over,  were  permitted  to  go  home,  while  many  others 
lounged  round  the  camps,  or  went  to  Richmond,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  having  a  good  time,  when  they  ought  to  have  been 
following  up  their  success  by  further  blows  at  the  enemy. 

It  is  easy  enough  now  to  see  the  mistakes  that  were  made, 
and  any  narrative  of  the  war  would  be  incomplete  were  not 
some  note  made  of  them.  I  do  not  pretend,  however,  that  I 
was  any  wiser  at  the  time  than  other  people,  or  that  I  had  any 
better  appreciation  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  we  had  before 
us.  Experience  is  a  bitter  teacher ;  and  Experience  in  this 
case  was  too  late  in  giving  her  instructions  for  it  to  do  any 
good. 

As  for  myself,  I  was  just  like  hundreds  of  other  young  of 
ficers,  eager  to  fight  as  much  for  the  excitement  of  the  thing 
as  anything  else ;  but  having  little  comprehension  of  the  real 
situation,  or  the  gigantic  obstacles  which  stood  in  the  way  of 
the  realization  of  our  hopes,  I  chafed  at  the  inactivity  which 


MERRY   DAYS  IN   RICHMOND.  109 

followed  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  hoping  for  another  engage 
ment  which  would  enable  me  to  display  my  valor,  but  was 
disposed  to  have  as  good  a  tim%  as  was  possible  while  the 
thing  lasted,  whether  any  fighting  was  going  on  or  not. 

The  victory  at  Bull  Run,  while  it  elated  the  whole  Southern 
people,  and  very  greatly  excited  their  hopes  and  expectations, 
was  most  demoralizing  to  Richmond,  to  which  city  the  capital 
of  the  Confederacy  had  been  removed  a  short  time  before  the 
battle  came  off.  Crowds  of  soldiers,  officers,  and  privates 
thronged  the  streets,  when  they  ought  to  have  been  on  duty 
in  the  field ;  while  innumerable  adventurers,  male  and  female, 
were  attracted  to  the  seat  of  government  in  the  hope  of  making 
something  out  of  the  war,  careless  of  what  happened  so  long 
as  they  were  able  to  fill  their  pockets.  Money  was  plenty, 
entirely  too  plenty,  and  the  drinking-saloons,  gambling-houses, 
and  worse  resorts,  reaped  a  rich  harvest.  For  a  time  all  went 
merrily ;  but  after  a  while,  as  month  after  month  wore  away, 
and  no  substantial  fruits  of  our  brilliant  victory  were  reaped, 
and  the  prospect  of  a  severe  contest  became  every  day  more 
decided,  those  who,  like  myself,  had  their  hearts  in  the  cause, 
began  to  be  impatient  and  disgusted  at  the  inactivity  that 

Prevailed,  and  were  disposed  to  do  a  good  deal  of  growling, 
confess  that  I  enjoyed  the  excitement  of  life  in  Richmond  at 
this  period  hugely  for  a  time,  but  I  soon  had  enough  of  it,  and 
was  glad  to  get  away. 

After  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  I  did  as  much  tall  talking  as 
anybody,  and  swaggered  about  in  fine  style,  sporting  my 
uniform  for  the  admiration  of  the  ladies,  and  making  myself 
agreeable  to  them  in  a  manner  that  excited  the  envy  of  the 
men,  and  raised  me  immensely  in  my  own  esteem ;  for  I  began 
to  pride  myself  as  much  upon  being  a  successful  lady's  man 
as  upon  being  a  valiant  soldier. 

A  LITTLE  UNPLEASANTNESS. 

The  only  adventure  of  any  consequence  that  I  had  in 
Richmond,  however,  was  a  difficulty  with  a  lieutenant,  who 
started  a  quarrel  with  me  without  the  slightest  provocation 
on  my  part,  and  who,  finding  me  apparently  indisposed  to 
have  any  words  with  him,  seemed  to  think  that  he  could  insult 
me  with  impunity.  I  stood  a  good  bit  of  insolence  from  him 
on  account  of  his  being  in  liquor,  and  endeavored  to  avoid 
him.  As  I  was  much  smaller  than  himself,  and  so  evidently 


110  HAVING   A   GOOD   TIME   IN   LEESBURG. 

unwilling  to  quarrel,  he  probably  thought  that  it  was  a  good 
opportunity  to  air  the  spirit  of  blackguardism,  which  is  the 
strongest  characteristic  of  mime  people,  and  persisted  in  fol 
lowing  me  up.  At  length  I  could  not  stand  his  insolence  any 
longer,  and  to  put  a  stop  to  it  slapped  his  face.  He  evidently 
had  not  expected  anything  of  this  kind,  for  he  seemed  stunned 
for  a  moment,  while  I  walked  off,>  determined  to  take  no  fur 
ther  notice  of  him,  unless  absolutely  compelled  to  do  so.  When 
he  recovered  himself  he  gave  me  a  voile}7  of  abuse,  and  threat 
ened  to  shoot  me  ;  but,  fortunately  for  himself,  a  friend  who 
had  seen  the  encounter  stepped  up,  and  taking  him  in  charge,' 
prevented  him  from  making  a  fool  of  himself  any  further.  I 
thought  that  perhaps  he  might  attempt  to  revenge  himself  in 
some  way  for  the  indignity  I  had  put  upon  him,  but  he  doubt 
less  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was  a  case  where  discre 
tion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  and  so  prudently  kept  out  of 
my  way.  I  never  .saw  his  homely  visage  again,  although  I 
every  day  appeared  in  the  most  public  places,  where  he  would 
have  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  me  if  he  had  desired  to. 

ONE  OF  CUPID'S  MISTAKES. 

Not  being  successful  in  getting  the  kind  of  appointment  I 
desired  at  Richmond,  I  concluded  to  try  my  luck  elsewhere. 
I  went  to  Danville,  and  remained  a  couple  of  days,  and  on  my 
return  to  Richmond  obtained  a  pass  and  transportation  for 
the  West.  When  I  got  as  far  as  Lynchburg,  however,  I 
changed  my  mind,  owing  to  meeting  some  of  the  boys  from 
Leesburg,  who  persuaded  me  to  go  there  with  them,  as  there 
was  every  prospect  of  another  fight  coming  off  soon.  This 
suited  me  exactly,  and  to  Leesburg  I  accordingly  went,  with 
a  full  determination  to  take  a  hand  in  a  battle  if  one  did  come 
off.  The  fight  did  occur,  although  not  so  soon  as  I  expected 
or  wished,  and  I  played  my  part  in  it  as  successfully  as  I  had 
done  at  Bull  Run.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  I  splurged 
around  Leesburg  in  fine  style,  and  enjoyed  myself  immensely, 
being  quite  as  successful  as  I-  had  been  in  other  places  in 
winning  the  regards  of  the  members  of  my  own  sex,  not  one 
of  whom  appeared  to  have  the  slightest  suspicion  that  I  was 
other  than  I  pretended  to  be. 

One  young  lady  in  particular,  Miss  E.,  showed  a  marked 
regard  for  me ;  and  as  she  was  a  very  charming  girl,  our 
acquaintance  would  probably  have  developed  into  a  decided 


SAILING   UNDER   FALSE   COLORS.  Ill 

attachment,  had  I  not  been  sailing  under  false  colors.  I  was 
sorry  that  I  could  not  reciprocate,  in  a  proper  manner,  the  very 
evident  partiality  she  displayed  towards  me ;  and  I  more  than 
half  regretted  that  I  permitted  matters  to  go  as  far  as  I  did, 
when  I  found  what  an  impression  I  was  making  on  her  suscep 
tible  heart.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  sustain  the  character 
I  had  assumed,  of  a  dashing  young  officer ;  and,  situated  as  I 
was,  it  was  important  that  I  should  make  myself  as  agreeable 
as  possible  to  the  members  of  my  own  sex.  Apart  from  this, 
however,  much  of  the  male  society  into  which  I  was  thrown 
was  so  very  disagreeable  to  me,  that  I  was  glad  to  escape  from 
it  by  seeking  that  of  lady  friends.  It  afforded  me  some  amuse 
ment,  too,  to  carry  on  a  bit  of  a  flirtation  with  a  nice  girl ;  and 
I  was  very  much  tempted  to  entertain  myself  in  this  manner, 
without  reflecting  very  deeply  as  to  the  consequences.  I  am 
very  willing  to  admit  that  I  ought  not  to  have  acted  as  I  did 
in  this,  and  some  other  similar  cases  ;  and  if  anything  should 
occur  to  induce  me  to  assume  male  attire  again,  I  should  care 
fully  avoid  making  love  to  young  ladies,  unless  I  had  occasion 
to  do  so  for  the  immediate  furtherance  of  my  plans.  My  error 
in  allowing  myself  to  indulge  in  flirtations  with  my  own  sex, 
arose  from  thoughtlessness,  and  from  a  desire  to  play  my  part 
to  the  best  advantage ;  and  I  am  sure  my  readers  will  forgive 
me,  as  I  hope  the  youug  ladies,  whom  I  induced  to  indulge 
false  expectations,  will,  when  the  publication  of  this  narrative 
makes  known  to  the  world  the  whole  truth  about  the  identity 
of  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford,  C.  S.  A. 

A  COOL  RECEPTION. 

I  met  Miss  E.,  by  accident,  in  a  store,  and  she  was  intro 
duced  to  me  by  a  youug  dry  goods  clerk,  with  whom  I  had 
struck  up  an  acquaintance.  After  a  little  conversation  on  indif 
ferent  subjects,  she  gave  me  a  very  pressing  invitation  to  call 
on  her.  I  said  that  I  would  do  myself  the  honor,  and  accord 
ingly  put  in  an  appearance,  dressed  in  my  best,  at  her  resi 
dence.  She  received  me  with  many  smiles  and  with  great 
cordiality,  and  introduced  me  to  her  father  and  mother.  As 
I  noticed  that  the  old  people  were  rather  inclined  to  be  a 
little  cool,  and  evidently  did  not  regard  me  with  overmuch 
favor,  I  cut  short  my  visit,  and,  politely  bowing  myself 
out,  determined,  in  my  own  mind,  never  to  enter  the  house 
again. 


112  BAGATELLE. 

Had  I  been  a  man,  the  conduct  of  the  parents  would 
probably  have  spurred  me  to  court  the  favor  of  the  daughter 
with  more  pertinacity  than  ever.  I  have  noticed  that  parental 
opposition  to  a  young  man  generally  has  this  sort  of  stimu 
lating  effect  upon  him ;  but,  being  a  woman,  I  did  not  look  at 
the  thing  exactly  from  a  masculine  point  of  view,  and,  as  the 
French  say,  Lejeun'en  valait  pas  la  chandelle. 

I  was  sufficiently  piqued,  however,  to  accept  any  advances 
the  young  lady  might  make  with  some  degree  of  favor,  and 
to  revenge  myself  upon  the  old  people,  by  making  myself 
intensely  agreeable  to  the  daughter,  in  spite  of  them.  When 
Miss  E.,  therefore,  showed  a  very  marked  disposition  to 
continue  our  acquaintance,  I  was  quite  ready  to  meet  her 
half  way. 

The  next  day  I  met  her  on  the  street,  and  she,  with  a 
pleasant  smile,  said,  "  I  hope  that  you  were  not  offended  last 
night.'7 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  I.  "  Why  should  I  be  ?  Nothing 
has  happened  to  offend  me  ; "  just  as  if  I  had  not  noticed  the 
behavior  of  her  parents. 

"  0,  yes,  there  has,"  she  answered.  "  Pa  did  not  behave 
at  all  polite  to  you ;  but  then  he  treats  all  the  young  men 
who  come  to  see  me  in  the  same  way,  so  you  must  not  mind 
him." 

She  then  informed  me  that,  if  I  wished,  I  could  see  her  at 
her  cousin's ;  and  as  she  seemed  to  be  exceedingly  anxious  to 
have  me  call  upon  her  again,  I  consented  to  do  so.  As  we 
walked  up  the  street  together  she  pointed  out  her  cousin's 
house,  and  I  made  an  appointment  to  meet  her  there  the  next 
day,  at  five  o'clock.  I  then  went  with  her  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  her  home,  but  declined  to  go  to  the  door ;  not  that 
I  cared  for  what  the  old  folks  might  say  or  think,  but  because 
I  thought  that  perhaps  she  might  get  a  scolding. 

On  parting  with  my  little  lady,  I  went  immediately  to  a 
livery  stable,  and,  hiring  a  team,  ordered  my  boy  Bob  to  drive 
past  Miss  E.'s  home,  for  the  sake  of  showing  the  old  gentle 
man  what  kind  of  style  I  could  put  on.  Then  going  to  the  dry 
goods  store,  I  took  my  friend,  the  clerk,  out  with  me  for  a  turn 
around  the  town,  but  did  not  inform  him  with  regard  to  what 
had  occurred  between  the  young  lady  and  myself. 

I  was  punctual  in  keeping  my  appointment  with  Miss  E. ; 
and  whether  it  was  that  my  stylish  team  had  impressed  her 
imagination,  or  that  it  was  really  a  case  of  love  at  first  sight, 


DISAPPOINTED    HOPES.  113 

she  was  even  more  cordial  in  her  manner  towards  me  than 
on  the  previous  occasions  when  we  had  met. 

She  asked  me  innumerable  questions  about  myself,  where  I 
was  from,  who  were  my  parents,  and  seemed  to  be  particularly 
anxious  to  find  out  all  about  me. 

I  made  up  a  story  that  I  thought  was  suited  to  the 
occasion  and  the  auditor;  and,  among  other  things,  told  her 
that  I  was  the  son  of  a  millionnaire,  that  1  had  joined  the 
army  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  and  that  I  was  paying  my  own 
expenses. 

This  seemed  to  make  a  great  impression,  on  her  ;  and,  with 
a  very  significant  smile,  she  said  she  wished  that  the  war 
would"  soon  end,  and  that  I  would  settle  permanently  in  Lees- 
burg.  This  was  a  rather  broad  hint,  and  1  could  scarcely  re 
frain  from  laughing  at  it ;  but  restraining  myself,  and  keeping 
my  countenance  straight,  I  asked,  "  Why  do  you  take  such 
a  fancy  to  me,  Miss  EL,  when  there  are  so  many  elegant, 
accomplished,  and  wealthy  young  men  in  Leesburg,  with  whom 
you  have  been  acquainted  for  a  long  time  ?  You  know  nothing 
whatever  of  me." 

"  It  won't  be  hard  for  us  to  become  better  acquainted,"  she 
replied. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  don't  want  to  deceive  you ;  but  the  fact 
is,  I  am  as  guod  as  married  already  ;  "  and  producing  a  young 
lady's  photograph,  which  I  had  in  my  pocket,  added,  "  I  ex 
pect  to  be  married  to  this  lady  as  soon  as  the  war  is  over." 

AN  EMBARRASSING  SITUATION. 

She  turned  pale  at  this,  and  the  tears  sprang  to  her  eyes, 
while  I  could  not  but  feel  regret  at  having  permitted  the 
matter  to  go  thus  far.  For  a  time  neither  of  us  spoke ;  and  at 
length,  to  put  an  end  to  a  scene  that  was  becoming  embar 
rassing  to  both  of  us,  I  arose,  and,  extending  my  hand,  said 
that  I  must  bid  her  good  evening. 

She  looked  at  me  in  a  pitiable  sort  of  way,  and  said,  "  Will 
I  never  see  you  again  ?  " 

I  answered  that  she  might,  if  I  was  not  killed,  but  a  battle 
was  expected  shortly,  and  it  was  my  intention  to  take  part  in 
it.  I  then  said  adieu,  and  precipitately  left  her,  not  feeling 
altogether  comfortable  about  the  affair ;  but  judging,  as  a 
woman,  that  the  young  lady  would,  before  a  great  while,  find 
herself  heart-whole,  and  be  none  the  worse  for  having  per- 
8 


114  AVOIDING   A   DIFFICULT   SITUATION. 

mitted   herself  to  become  unduly  interested   in  Lieutenant 
Harry  T.  Buford. 

So  ended  my  Leesburg  flirtation;  and  a  desire  to  avoid 
meeting  Miss  E.  again,  at  least  until  she  had  had  time  to 
recover  her  equanimity,  a*s  well  as  my  eager  wish  to  see  some 
more  fighting,  induced  me  to  leave  the  town  as  soon  as 
possible. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BALL'S  BLUFF. 

An  Appetite  for  Fighting.  —  The  Sensations  of  the  Battle-Field.  —  My 
Second  Battle.  —  The  Conflict  at  Ball's  Bluff.  —  My  Arrival  at  Genera! 
Evans's  Headquarters.  —  Meeting  an  old  Acquaintance.  —  Hospital 
ities  of  the  Camp.  —  The  Morning  of  the  Battle.  —  Commencement  of 
the  Fight.  —  A  fierce  Struggle.  —  In  Charge  of  a  Company.  —  A  sus 
picious  Story.  —  Bob  figures  as  a  Combatant.  —  Rout  of  the  Enemy. 

—  The   Federals  driven    over   the   Bluff  into   the    River.  —  I  capture 
some    Prisoners.  —  A    heart-rending  Spectacle.  —  Escape   of  Colonel 
Devens,  of  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Regiment,  by  swimming  across 
the  River. —  Sinking  of  the  Boats  with  the  wounded  Federals  in  them. 

—  Night,  and  the  End  of  the  Battle. 

T  might  be  supposed  that  one  battle  would  have 
been  enough  for  me,  and  that  after  having  seen, 
as  at  Bull  Run,  the  carnage  incident  to  a  desper 
ate  conflict  between  thousands  of  infuriated 
combatants,  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have 
abandoned  a  soldier's  career,  and  to  have  devoted 
myself  to  the  service  of  the  Confederacy  in  some  other 
capacity  than  that  of  a  fighter.  Indeed,  it  so  turned 
out,  that  the  most  efficient  services  I  did  perform  in 
behalf  of  the  cause  which  I  espoused,  were  other  than 
those  of  a  strictly  military  character,  although  quite  as 
important  as  any  rendered  by  the  bravest  fighters  when 
standing  face  to  face  to  the  enemy.  But  it  was,  in  a  measure, 
due  to  necessity  rather  than  to  original  choice,  that  I  under 
took  work  of  a  different  kind  from  that  which  I  had  in  my 
mind  when  first  donning  my  uniform.  We  are  all  of  us,  more 
or  less,  the  creatures  of  circumstances ;  and  when  I  saw  that 
the  fact  of  my  being  a  woman  would  enable  nsje  to  play  an 
other  role  from  that  which  I  had  at  first  intended,  I  did  not 
hesitate,  but  readily  accepted  what  Fate  had  to  offer. 

The  battle  of  Bull  Run,  however,  only  quickened  my  ardor 
to  participate  in  another  affair  of  a  similar  kind,  and  the 
months  of  enforced  inaction,  which  succeeded  that  battle,  had 

115 


116  A   HORRIBLE   REMINISCENCE. 

the  effect  of  making  me  long,  with  exceeding  eagerness,  to 
experience  again  the  excitement  which  thrilled  me  on  the 
sultry  July  day,  when  the  army  of  the  Confederacy  won  its 
first  great  victory.  The  sensations  which,  on  the  battle-field, 
overcome  a  soldier  who  knows  nothing  of  fear,  can  only  be 
compared  to  those  of  a  gambler  who  is  playing  for  enormous 
stakes.  The  more  noble  origin  of  the  emotions  experienced 
in  the  one  case  over  those  excited  by  the  other  does  not  pre 
vent  them  from  being  essentially  similar,  although  the  gam 
bler,  who  is  staking  his  all  on  the  turn  of  a  card,  can  know  little 
or  nothing  of  the  glorious  excitement  of  the  soldier  engaged 
in  a  deadly  conflict  with  an  enemy,  arid  feeling  that  its  issue 
depends  upon  his  putting  forth  his  utmost  exertions,  and  that 
determined  valor  can  alone  secure  him  the  victory. 

THE  PLEASURES  OF  FIGHTING. 

The  sensations  of  a  soldier  in  the  thick  of  a  fight  baffle  de 
scription  ;  and,  as  his  hopes  rise  or  sink  with  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  battle,  as  he  sees  comrades  falling  about  him  dead  and 
wounded,  hears  the  sharp  hiss  of  the  bullets,  the  shrieking  of 
the  shells,  the  yells  of  the  soldiers  on  each  side  as  they  smite 
each  other,  there  is  a  positive  enjoyment  in  the  deadly  perils 
of  the  occasion  that  nothing  can  equal. 

At  Bull  Run,  it  so  happened  that  I  was  placed  where  the 
fight  was  hottest,  where  the  enemy  made  his  most  determined 
attacks,  where  the  soldiers  of  the  South  made  their  most  des 
perate  resistance,  and  where,  for  hours,  the  fate  of  the  battle 
trembled  in  the  balance.  When  at  length  victory  crowned 
our  banners,  the  enemy  fled  from  the  field,  and  we  saw  no 
more  of  them,  and  desperate  as  was  the  fight,  it  was,  notwith 
standing  the  great  number  of  killed  and  wounded,  unattended 
with  the  peculiar  horrors,  the  mere  thought  of  which  is  calcu 
lated  to  send  a  shudder  through  the  strongest  nerves. 

The  second  battle  in  which  I.  participated  —  that  at  Ball's 
Bluff — was  accompanied  by  every  circumstance  of  horror; 
and  although  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  when  every 
faculty  of  mind  and  body  was  at  extreme  tension,  and  I  was 
only  .inspired  with  an  intense  eagerness  to  do  my  whole  duty 
for  my  cause,  I  did  not  fully  realize  the.  enormities  of  such  a 
slaughter  as  was  involved  in  the  defeat  of  the  Federals  at  that 
place,  1  have  never  been  able  to  think  of  it  without  a  shud 
der,  notwithstanding  that  I  have  fought  on  more  than  one 


IN   CAMP.  117 

bloody  field  since.  Such  scenes,  however.,  are  inseparable 
from  warfare,  and  those  who  take  up  arms  must  steel  them 
selves  against  them. 

IN  THE  FIELD  ONCE  MORE. 

It  was  the  10th  of  October,  1861,  when  I  left  Leesburg  and 
went  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Evans,  where  I  met  quite 
a  number  of  acquaintances,  and  was  received  with  great  cor 
diality  by  them.  A  young  officer  of  the  eighteenth  Mississippi 
regiment  invited  me  to  take  up  my  quarters  with  him;  but 
as  I  had  all  my  camp  equipage  with  me,  I  preferred  setting 
up  my  own  tent.  Seeking  General  Evans,  I  showed  him  my 
papers,  and  asked  to  be  employed.  He  accordingly  sent  me 
to  Colonel  Burt,  of  the  eighth  Virginia  regiment,  who,  how 
ever,  told  me  that  as  he  had  no  vacancy  in  his  command,  he 
could  do  nothing  for  me.  I  had  no  other  resource  now  but  to 
await  events,  and  see  what  should  turn  up  in  my  favor,  feeling 
a  little  disappointed  at  not  being  able  to  become  attached 
definitely  to  some  command,  but  with  ample  confidence  in  my 
own  ability  to  take  care  of  myself,  and  to  find  some  means  of 
having  a  hand  in  thd  expected  battle,  whenever  it  came  off. 

A  FRIEND  OF  MY  YOUTH. 

At  Hunton's  headquarters,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
Colonel  Featherstone,  of  the  seventeenth  Mississippi  regi 
ment.  This  fine  officer  I  had  known  when  I  was  quite  a  small 
child,  and  I  was  decidedly  amused  at  the  idea  of  renewing  my 
acquaintance  with  him  under  existing  circumstances.  He 
had  not  the  shadow  of  an  idea  that  the  dashing  little  lieutenant 
who  stood  before  him  was  a  woman  whom  he  had  known  as  a 
child.  He,  however,  took  a  very  polite  interest  in  me,  and 
asked  where  I  was  from,  and  a  variety  of  other  questions, 
which  I  had  to  draw  rather  extensively  upon  my  imagination  to 
answer  in  proper  style.  I  told  him  that  I  belonged  to  Missis 
sippi,  and  a  good  deal  more  of  the  same  kind  of  fiction,  which, 
if  not  quite  as  interesting  as  the  truth  would  have  been,  was 
sufficiently  satisfying  for  the  moment. 

After  we  had  chatted  a  little  while,  Colonel  Featherstone 
invited  me  over  to  his  tent,  and  handing  out  a  bottle  of  whis 
key,  told  me  to  help  myself. 

"  No,  thank  you,  colonel,"  I  said ;  "  I  never  drink  anything 


118  THE  BATTLE  OF  BALL'S  BLUFF. 

strong ;  it  does  not  agree  with  me,  and  I  accordingly  make  it 
a  rule  not  to  touch  it." 

He  did  not  urge  me  when  he  noticed  that  I  was  very  positive 
in  declining ;  but  pouring  out  a  sizable  one  for  himself,  said, 
"  Well,  a  drink  of  the  right  kind  of  liquor,  now  and  then,  is  a 
pretty  good  thing,  I  think.  Here's  my  regards : "  —  and, 
nodding  towards  me,  he  swallowed  it  at  a  gulp,  without  wink 
ing  an  eye. 

He  then  said,  "Lieutenant,  you  can  turn  in  here  if  you 
wish,  if  you  have  not  been  assigned  to  quarters.  You  are 
welcome  to  all  I  have,  and  can  make  yourself  at  home." 

I  thanked  him,  and  said  that  there  was,  fortunately,  no  neces 
sity  for  trespassing  on  his  hospitality.  Whereupon  he  said, 
"  If  you  won't  stop  with  me,  come  in  and  see  me  often.  I  will 
be  glad  to  talk  to  you." 

Thanking  him  again  for  his  kindness,  I  said  good-night,  and 
went  over  to  my  own  tent,  where  I  found  Bob  sound  asleep. 
Arousing  him,  I  ordered  him  to  be  up  by  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  to  cook  plenty  of  provisions,  as  we  expected 
something  to  happen.  The  darkey  knew  very  well  that  I 
meant  a  fight  was  probably  coming  off  soon ;  but  by  this  time 
he  had  tolerably  well  gotten  over  his  first  scare,  and  was  be 
ginning  to  find  enjoyment  in  the  excitements  of  warfare,  as 
well  as  myself.  He  grinned,  and  promised  compliance  with 
my  order,  and  I  lay  down  to  sleep,  convinced  from  what  I  had 
heard  during  the  evening,  that  my  desire  to  participate  in  an 
other  battle  was  likely  to  be  gratified  very  soon. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BALL'S  BLUFF. 

The  next  morning,  October  22,  I  was  up,  and  ready  for 
whatever  might  happen,  at  an  early  hour.  Having  learned 
that  a  large  force  of  the  enemy,  belonging  to  the  command  of 
Colonel  Baker,  had  succeeded  in  crossing  at  Edwards'  Ferry, 
and  had  gained  the  Bluffs,  prompt  preparations  were  made  to 
give  them  a  warm  reception. 

The  brigade  under  the  command  of  General  Evans  consisted 
of  four  regiments,  —  the  eighth  Virginia,  and  the  thirteenth, 
seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  Mississippi,  which  were  respec 
tively  commanded  by  Colonels  Hunton,  Burt,  Featherstone, 
and  Barksdale.  The  first  brunt  of  the  fight  was  borne  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Janifer,  who,  with  five  companies,  was 
covering  the  approach  to  Leesburg. 


120  A   DESPERATE   STRUGGLE. 

About  twelve  o'clock,  the  eighth  Virginia  regiment  ad 
vanced  to  Janifei's  assistance,  and  this,  I  saw,  was  my  chance 
if  I  wished  to  participate  in  the  battle.  My  darkey  had  his 
fighting  blood  up  too,  and  Was,  apparently,  as  anxious  as  I 
was  to  have  a  crack  at  the  enemy ;  for,  he  said,  "  Give  me  a 
gun,  Mas'  Harry.  I  want  to  shoot,  too." 

"  You'll  have  a  chance  to  do  some  fighting  pretty  soon,  Bob, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,"  said  I,  as  we  pushed  forward  as  fast  as 
we  could  in  the  direction  of  the  firing,  which  became  more 
rapid  every  moment. 

Immediately  on  top  of  the  Bluff,  where  the  enemy  had  suc 
ceeded  in  effecting  a  landing,  and  for  some  distance  back, 
there  was  a  tolerably  open  piece  of  ground,  cut  up  somewhat 
by  ridges  and  hollows,  and  surrounded  by  a  thick  growth  of 
woods.  This  timber  for  a  while  concealed  the  combatants  from 
each  other,  and  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  tell  what  force  we 
were  contending  with.  The  woods  seemed  to  be  alive  with 
combatants,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  enemy  was  strongly 
fortified.  Notwithstanding  the  uncertainties  with  regard  to 
the  number  of  our  opponents,  we  attacked  with  spirit,  and  for 
a  time  the  fight  was  bravely  carried  on  by  both  armies.  The 
enemy  certainly  fought  exceedingly  well,  especially  consider 
ing  the  precariousness  of  their  position,  although,  of  course,  we 
did  not  know  at  the  time  the  attack  was  made  that  our  foes 
were  in  such  a  desperate  predicament. 

Colonel  Burt,  with  his  eighteenth  Mississippi  regiment,  ad 
vanced  to  the  attack  on  the  left  of  our  line,  while  Janifer  and 
the  Virginians  held  the  centre.  Burt's  Mississippians  were 
compelled  to  undergo  a  most  terrific  fire  from  the  enemy,  who 
were  concealed  in  the  hollows,  but  they  succeeded  in  holding 
them  in  check,  although  they  suffered  severely,  and  Colonel 
Burt  himself  was  numbered  among  the  slain  before  the  victory 
was  won. 

THE  FIGHT  AT  ITS  HOTTEST. 

At  three  o'clock,  Colonel  Featherstone  came  up  with  his 
regiment,  and  advanced  at  a  double-quick  to  the  assistance  of 
Burt.  The  firing  now  became  general  all  along  the  line,  and 
the  men  on  both  sides  seemed  to  be  disposed  to  fight  with  the 
utmost  fury.  I  thought  the  struggle  at  Bull  Run  a  desperate 
one,  but  that  battle  at  its  fiercest  did  not  begin  to  equal  this ; 
and  when  finally  we  did  succeed  in  routing  the  enemy,  I  ex 
perienced  a  sense  of  satisfaction  and  relief  that  was  over- 


A    SKULKER.  121 

whelming.  For  three  weary  hours  the  fighting  continued 
without  intermission ;  and  although  for  a  long  while  the  result 
was  dubious,  at  length,  as  the  chilly  October  day  was  about 
closing,  the  enemy  having  lost  a  great  number  of  men  and 
officers,  including  Colonel  Baker,  and  being  hemmed  in  on 
three  sides,  were  driven  in  confusion  into  the  river. 

Shortly  after  the  fight  commenced,  I  took  charge  of  a  com 
pany  which  had  lost  all  its  officers,  and  I  do  not  think  that 
either  my  men  or  myself  failed  to  do  our  full  duty.  Perhaps, 
if  I  had  been  compelled  to  manoeuvre  my  command  in  the 
open  field,  I  might  not  have  done  it  as  skilfully  as  some 
others  would,  although  I  believe  that  I  could  have  played  the 
part  of  a  captain  quite  as  well  as  a  good  many  of  them  who 
held  regular  commissions  as  commanders  of  companies,  and  a 
good  deal  better  than  some  others  who  aspired  to  be  officers 
before  learning  the  first  rudiments  of  their  business,  and  with 
out  having  the  pluck  to  conduct  themselves  before  the  enemy 
in  a  manner  at  all  correspondent  to  their  braggart  style  of 
behavior  when  not  smelling  gunpowder  under  compulsion. 
In  this  battle,  however,  fighting  as  we  were  for  the  most  part 
in  the  woods,  there  was  little  or  no  manoeuvring  to  be  done, 
and  my  main  duties  were  to  keep  the  men  together,  and  to  set 
them  an  example.  This  latter  I  certainly  did. 

After  the  battle  was  over,  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  com 
pany  which  I  was  commanding  came  in  and  relieved  me, 
stating  that  he  had  been  taken  prisoner,  but  had  succeeded  in 
making  his  escape  in  the  confusion  incident  to  the  Federal 
defeat.  I  did  not  say  anything,  but  had  my  very  serious 
doubts  as  to  the  story  which"  he  told  being  the  exact  truth. 
He  had  a  very  sheepish  look,  as  if  he  was  ashamed  of  himself 
for  playing  a  sneaking,  cowardly  trick ;  and  I  shall  always  be 
lieve  that  when  the  firing  commenced,  he  found  an  oppor 
tunity  to  slink  away  to  the  rear  for  the  purpose  of  getting  out 
of  the  reach  of  danger. 

I  have  seen  a  good  many  officers  like  this  one,  who  were 
brave  enough  when  strutting  about  in  the  streets  of  cities  and 
villages,  showing  themselves  off  in  their  uniforms  to  the 
women,  or  when  airing  their  authority  in  camp,  by  bullying  the 
soldiers  under  them,  but  who  were  the  most  arrant  cowards 
under  fire,  and  who  ought  to  have  been  court-marshalled  and 
shot,  instead  of  being  permitted  to  disgrace  their  uniforms, 
and  to  demoralize  their  men,  by  their  dastardly  behavior  when 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  My  colored  boy  Bob  was  a  better 


122  DEFEAT  OF  THE  FEDERALS. 

soldier  than  some  of  the  white  men  who  thought  themselves 
immensely  his  superiors ;  and  having  possessed  himself  of  a 
gun,  he  fought  as  well  as  he  knew  how,  like  the  rest  of  us. 
When  the  enemy  gave  way,  I  could  hear  Bob  yelling  vocifer 
ously  ;  and  I  confess  that  I  was  proud  of  the  darkey's  pluck 
and  enthusiasm. 


THE  ENEMY  PUT  TO  FLIGHT. 

The  daylight  was  beginning  to  fail,  when,  at  length,  the 
enemy  broke,  and  ran  towards  the  river,  a  confused  mob  of 
fugitives,  instead  of  an  organized  and  disciplined  army.  I 
was  so  wearied  that  I  could  scarcely  stand.  But  at  this  mo 
ment  I  would  rather  have  died  than  have  faltered.  All  my 
Southern  blood  was  stirred  in  my  veins,  and  however  little  my 
help  might  be,  I  was  resolved  to  give  it  to  complete  the 
victory. 

The  yells  of  triumph  that  broke  from  our  boys,  as  they  saw 
their  foes  flying  before  them,  were  terrific ;  and  they  rushed 
after  them,  pursuing  them  through  the  woods,  and  over  the 
open  ground,  to  the  very  edge  of  the  Bluff.  General  Evans 
gave  orders  to  drive  them  into  the  river,  or  to  capture  them ; 
and  every  officer  and  man  seemed  animated  by  a  determina 
tion  to  make  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  as  signal  as  possible. 
I  advanced  my  company,  in  compliance  with  Evans's  orders, 
until  we  neared  the  river,  when  I  called  a  halt;  saying,  as  I 
did  so,  to  the  boys,  "  This  is  warm  work,  but  they  are  badly 
whipped,  I  think." 

Looking  under  me  into  a  little  ravine,  I  espied  a  Yankee 
sergeant  reaching  for  a  musket,  evidently  with  the  intention 
of  treating  me  to  its  contents.  Levelling  a  pistol  at  him,  I 
cried  out,  "  No,  you  don't !  Drop  that,  and  come  up  here,  you 
scoundrel !  " 

He  obeyed  in  very  short  order ;  and  when  he  had  reached 
me,  I  said,  "  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  If  it  wasn't  for 
having  the  name  of  murdering  a  prisoner,  I  would  shoot 
you." 

He  answered,  sullenly,  "  I  don't  care  a  d — n  whether  you 
do  or  not ; "  and  I  don't  believe  that  he  did  care  much,  just 
then,  for  he  evidently  felt  badly  at  having  been  defeated. 

While  talking  with  this  prisoner,  a  number  of  other  fugitives 
were  discovered  hid  in  the  gulleys,  whom  I  immediately  cap 
tured. 


THE  SLAUGHTER  OF  THE  VANQUISHED.          123 

"To  what  command  do  you  belong ?"  I  asked. 

They  told  me  that  they  belonged  to  the  fifteenth  Massachu 
setts  regiment,  but  that  the  army  was  under  the  command  of 
General  Stone. 

HORRIBLE  INCIDENTS. 

At  the  point  where  I  stood  the  Potomac  River  was  very 
wide,  and  it  presented  a  sight  such  as  I  prayed  that  I  might 
never  behold  again.  The  enemy  were  literally  driven  down 
the  Bluff,  and  into  the  river,  and  crowds  of  them  were  floun 
dering  in  the  water,  and  grappling  v/ith  death.  This  horrible 
spectacle  made  me  shudder ;  for,  although  they  were  my  foes, 
they  were  human  beings,  and  my  heart  must  have  been  hard, 
indeed,  could  it  not  have  felt  for  their  sufferings.  I  was 
willing  to  fight  them  to  death's  door  in  the  open  field,  and  to 
ask  no  favors,  taking  the  same  chances  for  life  as  they  had ; 
but  I  had  no  heart  for  their  ruthless  slaughter.  All  the 
woman  in  me  revolted  at  the  fiendish  delight  which  some  of 
our  soldiers  displayed  at  the  sight  of  the  terrible  agony  en 
dured  by  those  who  had,  but  a  short  time  before,  been  con 
testing  the  field  with  them  so  valiantly,  and  I  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  making  some  decisive  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
carnage,  and  to  relieve  my  suffering  foes.  For  the  first  time 
since  putting  on  my  uniform  I  was  thrown  off  my  guard,  and 
should  certainly  have  done  something  to  betray  my  secret  had 
I  not  fortunately  restrained  myself  in  time.  Such  scenes  as 
these,  however,  are  inseparable  from  warfare,  and  they  must 
be  endured  by  those  who  adopt  a  soldier's  career.  The  piti 
able  spectacles  which  followed  our  brillant  victory  at  Ball's 
Bluff,  however,  had  the  effect  of  satisfying  my  appetite  for 
fighting  for  a  time  ;  and  after  it  was  all  over,  I  was  by  no  means 
as  anxious  for  another  battle,  as  I  had  been  after  the  victory 
at  Bull  Run. 

I  have  not  the  ability  to  give  a  minute  description  of  the 
horrid  incidents  attending  the  rout  of  the  Federals  at  Ball's 
Bluff,  even  if  I  had  the  disposition.  As  this  battle,  however, 
was  an  important  event  in  my  military  career,  and  as  it  made  a 
very  painful  impression  upon  me,  some  account,  even  if  a  very 
meagre  one,  of  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  affair, 
seems  to  be  necessary  in  order  to  make  my  narrative  com 
plete. 

When  the  enemy  broke  before  the  galling  fire  which  we 
poured  into  them,  they  stampeded  for  the  river,  a  disordered 


124        THE  FEDERALS  DRIVEN  OVER  THE  BLUFF. 

and  panic-stricken  crowd.  Over  the  Bluff  they  went,  pell- 
mell,  leaping,  rolling,  and  tumbling,  more  like  a  herd  of  fright 
ened  buffalo  fleeing  from  the  savages  of  the  plains,  than  hu 
man  beings,  hundreds  being  shot  down  while  attempting  to 
cross,  and  hundreds  of  others  being  captured  before  they  could 
gain  the  river.  I  was  sick  with  horror ;  and  as  the  cold  shiv 
ers  ran  through  me,  and  my  heart  stood  still  in  my  bosom,  I 
shut  my  eyes  for  a  moment,  wishing  that  it  was  all  over,  but 
only  to  open  them  again  to  gaze  on  a  spectacle  that  had  a 
terrible  fascination  for  me,  in  spite  of  its  horrors. 

ESCAPE  OF  COLONEL  DEVENS. 

Directly,  one  of  the  prisoners  whom  I  was  guarding,  shouted, 
"  There  goes  my  colonel ! " 

"  What  is  his  name  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"Colonel  Devens,  of  the  fifteenth  Massachusetts. regiment," 
he  replied,  as  he  pointed  to  a  figure  striking  out  in  an  attempt 
to  swim  across  the  river. 

I  said,  "I  hope  the  poor  fellow  will  get  safely  to  land,  for 
he  has  fought  bravely,  and  deserves  a  better  fate  than  a 
watery  grave." 

Colonel  Devens,  it  appears,  in  the  confusion  got  separated 
from  his  men,  and  seeing  no  chance  of  rallying  them,  or  of 
doing  anything  to  turn  the  tide  of  defeat,  had,  when  all  hope 
of  ever  effecting  an  orderly  retreat  was  gone,  sought  to  save 
himself  in  the  desperate  manner  I  have  indicated.  Pie  was, 
apparently,  a  powerful  swimmer,  for  he  was  soon  out  of  mus 
ket-shot,  and  I  believe  he  managed  to  gain  the  other  shore. 
He  had  my  best  wishes  in  the  attempt  at  any  rate,  for  I  have 
not  a  cruel  or  vindictive  nature,  and  at  this  time  my  womanly 
sympathies  were  being  awakened  in  the  liveliest  manner. 

When  the  rout  began,  there  was  but  one  boat  in  the 
river,  and  this  was  quickly  filled  with  a  struggling  mass  of 
humanity,  each  man  being  intent  only  on  making  good  his 
own  escape  from  the  deadly  fire  of  the  Confederates.  On 
the  bank,  a  dense  crowd  of  fugitives  were  throwing  away 
their  arms,  and  divesting  themselves  of  their  clothing,  some 
of  them,  apparently,  resolved  to  save  themselves,  like  Colonel 
Devens,  by  swimming.  A  large  number  of  those  who  plunged 
into  the  river  were  drowned  in  the  icy  waters,  and  the 
shrieks  of  these  poor  fellows  fairly  appalled  me  as  I  heard 
them,  and  rang  in  my  ears  for  days  afterwards. 


NIGHT  PUTS  AN  END  TO  THE  CARNAGE.         125 

Our  men  had  orders  to  keep  up  a  fire  from  the  Bluff,  and 
only  too  many  seemed  to  delight  in  the  bloody  work,  as  they 
poured  volley  after  volley  into  the  fugitives.  On  my  left,  a 
Federal  captain  came  charging  up  the  hill  at  the  head  of  his 
men,  apparently  not  aware  of  the  full  extent  of  the  disaster 
which  had  befallen  his  comrades.  As  soon,  however,  as  he 
reached  a  place  where  he  could  survey  the  field,  he  saw  plainly 
that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  further  resistance,  and  so  he 
raised  a  white  flag,  and  surrendered  himself  and  command. 

I  fired  my  revolver  at  another  officer  —  a  major,  I  believe  — 
who  was  in  the  act  of  jumping  into  the  river.  I  saw  him 
spring  into  the  air,  and  fall ;  and  then  turned  my  head  away, 
shuddering  at  what  I  had  done,  although  I  believed  that  it 
was  only  my  duty.  An  officer  near  me  exclaimed,  "  Lieuten 
ant,  your  ball  took  him;  "  —  words  that  sent  a  thrill  of  horror 
through  me. 

The  most  awful  episode  of  the  day  was  the  sinking  of  the 
boats  containing  the  wounded  and  dying;  and  from  this  I 
turned  away,  sick  at  heart,  unable  to  endure  the  sight  of  it. 

So  ended  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff;  and  the  soldiers  of  the 
Confederacy  had  won  another  great  victory,  although  at  a 
terrible  sacrifice ;  for  many  of  our  bravest  officers  and  men 
were  slain,  and  a  great  number  severely  wounded.  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  had  done  my  duty,  and  had 
fought  as  bravely  as  the  bravest.  It  cost  me  a  pang  to  think 
of  the  noble  fellows  who  fell  in  defence  of  the  cause  they 
loved,  and  I  particularly  mourned  the  death  of  the  gallant 
Colonel  Burt.  I  had  regrets,  too,  for  the  foemen  who  were  so 
ruthlessly  slaughtered,  and  would  willingly  have  spared  them 
had  it  been  in  my  power  to  do  so.  There  were,  I  think,  about 
nineteen  hundred  men  engaged  at  Ball's  Bluff  on  the  Con 
federate  side,  and  six  pieces  of  artillery.  Exactly  how  many 
the  Federals  had  I  do  not  know,  but  their  numbers  were 
certainly  equal  to  ours,  if  not  greater. 

When  night  finally  closed  upon  the  battle-field,  and  put  an 
end  to  the  carnage,  I  was  completely  used  up  by  the  fatigues 
and  excitements  of  the  day,  arid  not  even  the  terrible  scenes 
which  haunted  me  in  my  mind's  eye,  long  after  I  had  ceased 
to  gaze  upon  them,  could  prevent  me  from  dropping  into  a 
sound  and  dreamless  sleep. 


CHAPTER   X. 

FIRST   EXPERIENCES   AS   A  SPY. 

Reaction  after  the  Excitements  of  a  Battle.  —  The  Necessity  for  mental 
and  bodily  Occupation.  —  I  form  a^new  Project.  —  War  as  we  imagine 
it,  and  as  it  is.  —  Fighting  not  the  only  Thing  to  be  done.  —  The  Dreams 
of  Youth,  and  the  Realities  of  Experience.  —  The  Secret  of  Success.  — 
The  Difficulties  which  the  Confederate  Commanders  experienced  in 
obtaining  Information  of  the  Movements  of  the  Enemy.  —  What  a 
Woman  can  do  that  a  Man  cannot.  —  A  Visit  to  Mrs.  Tyree.  —  The 
only  Way  of  keeping  a  Secret.  —  I  assume  the  Garments  of  my  own 
Sex  again  as  a  Disguise.  —  Getting  across  the  Potomac  at  Night. — 
Asleep  in  a  Wheat-Stack.  —  A  suspicious  Farmer.  —  A  Friend  in  Need. 
—  Maryland  Hospitality.  —  Off  for  Washington. 

'F  too  restless  and  impulsive  a  disposition  to 
endure  patiently  the  prolonged  "inaction  which 
seemed  inevitable  after  a  battle,  it  fretted  me 
to  be  obliged  to  lounge  about  camp,  or  to  par 
ticipate  in  the  too  often  most  demoralizing 
amusements  of  the  city,  as  I  had  been  com 
pelled  to  do  for  many  weeks  after  the  fight  at  Bull  Run. 
I  was  disgusted,  too,  at  the  difficulties  which  presented 
themselves  at  every  step  whenever  I  attempted  to 
get  myself  attached  to  a  regular  command,  or  to  be 
assigned  for  the  kind  of  service  which  I  felt  best  quali 
fied  to  perform,  and  which  was  most  in  accordance  with  my 
tastes.  It  was  an  absolute  necessity  for  me  to  be  in  motion, 
to  be  doing  something,  and  the  slow  and  inconclusive  progress 
of  the  military  movements  annoyed  me  beyond  expression. 
The  inevitable  reaction,  after  the  intense  excitements  of  the 
battle  of  Ball's  Bluff,  caused  a  depression  of  spirits  which  I 
felt  I  must  do  something  to  shake  off.  The  terrible  sights 
and  sounds  of  that  battle  haunted  me  night  and  day,  for  I 
could  not  help  thinking  of  them,  and  the  more  I  thought  of 
them  the  more  horrible  they  appeared. 

I  determined,  therefore,  very  shortly  after  the  battle,  to  put 

126 


THE   REALITIES    OF   WARFARE.  127 

into  execution  a  project  I  had  for  some  time  been  meditating, 
which  would  require  the  exercise  of  all  my  faculties,  and 
which  would  give  me  constant  employment  for  mind  and 
body,  such  as  the  routine  of  camp  life  did  not  afford,  and 
which  would  compel  me  to  concentrate  my  mind  on  the  inven 
tion  and  execution  of  plans  for  the  achievement  of  definite 
results  for  the  cause  of  Southern  independence. 

Before  entering  upon  the  career  of  a  soldier,  I  of  course 
knew  a  great  deal  about  military  life,  having  been  the  wife 
of  an  army  officer,  and  having  resided  at  frontier  stations,  but 
I  had  nevertheless  very  crude  and  superficial  notions  about 
the  exigencies  of  warfare.  My  ideas,  however,  were  no 
cruder  than  those  of  thousands  of  others,  for  it  is  very  doubt 
ful  whether  any  but  a  few  veterans  understood  what  would 
have  to  be  gone  through  with  by  soldiers  in  the  field,  espe 
cially  when  large  armies  were  operating  against  each  other 
over  an  immense  stretch  of  country. 

The  books  I  had  read,  in  which  the  doings  of  heroes  and 
heroines  were  recorded,  devoted  a  large  space  to  the  descrip 
tion  of  battles,  and  these,  as  a  matter  of  course,  being  more 
interesting  and  exciting  than  the  other  portions,  it  was  only 
natural,  perhaps,  that  the  notion  should  become  fixed  in  my 
mind  that  fighting  was  a  soldier's  chief,  if  not  only  employ 
ment. 

ROMANCE  AND  REALITY. 

I  was  soon  disillusioned  on  these  points,  and,  after  a  very 
brief  experience,  discovered  that  actual  warfare  was  far  dif 
ferent  from  what  I  had  supposed  it  would  be.  Neither  of  the 
battles  in  which  I  had  thus  far  been  engaged  impressed  me 
at  all  as  I  had  expected  they  would,  although,  in  some  partic 
ulars,  they  were  agreeable  disappointments ;  for  there  was  an 
exhilaration  in  an  actual,  hotly -contested  fight  that  far  sur 
passed  anything  my  imagination  had  pictured.  Battles,  how 
ever,  I  found  were  likely  to  be  few  and  far  between,  while 
there  were  thousands  of  disagreeable  incidents  connected 
with  military  life  which  I  had  never  suspected,  and  of  which 
my  husband's  warnings  had  scarcely  given  me  the  slightest 
hint.  The  inaction  of  the  camp,  when  one  is  day  after  day 
hoping  and  half  expecting  something  startling  will  happen, 
only  to  be  subjected  to  perpetual  disappointment,  and  the  dull 
round  of  camp  duties,  and  the  trivial  devices  adopted  to  kill 
time,  after  a  very  brief  period  become  most  oppressive. 


128  THE  SECRET  OP  SUCCESS. 

Not  only  did  I  discover  that  fighting  was  not  the  only,  or 
the  most  frequent,  employment  of  the  soldier,  but  I  soon 
aAvakened  to  the  fact  that,  in  a  great  war,  like  the  one  in 
which  1  was  now  taking  part,  it  was  not  always  the  men  who 
wore  the  uniforms  and  handled  the  muskets  who  performed  the 
most  efficient  services.  As  there  were  other  things  besides 
fighting  to  do,  so  there  must  be  other  than  soldiers  to  perform 
necessary  portions  of  the  work,  and  to  aid  in  advancing  the 
interests  of  the  cause. 

DREAMS  OF  DELUSION. 

Many  of  our  hopes,  anticipations,  and  aspirations  are  mere 
dreams  of  delusion,  which  can  have  no  practical  fulfilment  in 
this  working-day  world,  and  it  sometimes  costs  a  pang  to  dis 
miss  forever  a  cherished  but  mistaken  idea,  and  to  weave  our 
own  web  of  romance  from  the  parti-colored  threads  of  com 
monplace  reality  ;  it  is  like  parting  with  a  portion  of  our 
own  being.  But,  the  illusion  once  dispelled,  we  are  able  to 
step  forward  more  firmly  and  more  resolutely,  to  act  the  part 
which  the  will  of  Providence  assigns  us  to  play  in  the  great 
drama  of  life. 

We  may  regret  that  the  dreams  of  our  youth  do  not  come 
true,  just  as  we  once  loved  to  hope  that  they  would,  almost 
without  endeavor  on  our  part ;  but  who  shall  say  that  our 
own  life  romances,  woven  out  of  the  tissues  of  events  from 
day  to  day,  with  much  labor,  doubt,  and  pain,  are  not  fairer 
and  brighter  than  any  imagination  could  create  ?  It  is  good 
to  do  one's  duty  quietly  amid  the  rush  of  great  events,  even 
when  the  path  of  duty  lies  in  hidden  places,  where  the  gaze 
of  the  crowd  penetrates  not,  where  applause  cannot  follow ; 
and  one's  own  satisfaction  at  duty  well  and  nobly  performed, 
is,  after  all,  the  best  recompense  that  can  be  had. 

To  be  a  second  Joan  of  Arc  was  a  mere  girlish  fancy,  which 
my  very  first  experiences  as  a  soldier  dissipated  forever ;  and 
it  did  not  take  me  long  to  discover  that  I  needed  no  model, 
but  that,  to  win  success  in  the  career  I  had  chosen,  I  must  be 
simply  myself,  and  not  a  copy,  even  in  the  remotest  partic 
ular,  of  anybody  else  ;  and  that  the  secret  of  success  consisted 
in  watching  the  current  of  events,  and  in  taking  advantage 
of  circumstances  as  they  arose. 

In  a  life  &o  novel  as  that  I  was  now  leading,  however,  it 
took  me  some  time  to  become  sufficiently  informed  to  be  able 


A   NEW   ENTERPRISE   PROJECTED.  129 

to  do  anything  effective  in  the  way  of  shaping  my  career;  I  was, 
of  necessity,  obliged  to  go  ahead  somewhat  at  random,  and  to 
wait  and  learn,  not  only  what  I  could  do  with  the  best  effect, 
but  what  there  was  for  me  to  do.  In  assuming  the  garb  of  a 
soldier,  I  had  no  other  idea  than  to  do  a  soldier's  duty:  this 
was  my  ambition,  and  I  scarcely  gave  thought  to  anything 
else.  The  experiences  of  actual  warfare,  however,  soon  had 
the  effect  of  convincing  me  that  a  woman  like  myself,  who 
had  a  talent  for  assuming  disguises,  and  who,  like  me,  was 
possessed  of  courage,  resolution,  and  energy,  backed  up  by  a 
ready  wit,  a  plausible  address,  and  attractive  manners,  had  it 
in  her  power  to  perform  many  services  of  the  most  vital  im 
portance,  which  it  would  be  impossible  for  a  man  to  even 
attempt. 

DIFFICULTIES  IN  OBTAINING  INFORMATION. 

The  difficulty  which  our  commander  experienced  in  gaining 
accurate  and  thoroughly  reliable  information  with  regard  to  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  the  rumors  that  prevailed  of  the  enor 
mous  preparations  being  made  by  the  Federal  government  to 
crush  the  South,  an  insatiable  desire  to  see  and  to  hear  for 
myself  what  was  going  on  within  the  enemy's  lines,  all  stim 
ulated  me  to  make  an  attempt,  the  hazardous  character  of 
which  I  well  knew ;  but,  trusting  to  my  woman's  wit  to  see 
me  safely  through,  I  resolved  that  the  attempt  should  be 
made. 

My  plans  were  tolerably  well  matured  when  the  battle  of 
Ball's  Bluff  took  place,  and  I  should  probably  have  put  them 
in  execution  before  I  did,  had  it  not  been  for  the  insatiate 
desire  I  had  to  take  part  in  another  fight.  After  that  battle, 
I  more  than  ever  felt  the  necessity  for  some  constant,  active 
employment,  for  I  chafed  under  the  ennui  of  the  camp,  and 
felt  irresistibly  impelled  to  be  moving  about  and  doing  some 
thing.  I  accordingly  was  not  long  in  resolving  that  the  time 
had  now  arrived  for  me  to  attempt  something  more  than  I 
had  yet  done,  and  for  me  to  effect  a  coup  that  might  either 
make  or  mar  my  fortunes,  but  that,  whatever  its  result  might 
be,  would  give  me  the  excitement  I  craved,  and  demonstrate 
my  abilities,  and  my  disposition  to  serve  the  Confederacy  in 
such  a  signal  manner  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  those  in 
authority  any  longer  to  ignore  me. 
9 


130  A    TRUE    DAUGHTER    OF   VIRGINIA. 

A  WOMAN'S  ADVANTAGES  AND  DISADVANTAGES. 

A  woman  labors  under  some  disadvantages  in  an  attempt 
to  fight  her  own  way  in  the  world,  and  at  the  same  time,  from 
the  mere  fact  that  she  is  a  woman,  she  can  often  do  things 
that  a  man  cannot.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  wish 
I  had  been  created  a  man  instead  of  a  woman.  This  is  what 
is  the  matter  with  nearly  all  the  women  who  go  about  com 
plaining  of  the  wrongs  of  our  sex.  But,  being  a  woman,  I 
was  bent  on  making  the  best  of  it ;  and  having  for  some  time 
now  figured  successfully  in  the  garments  of  the  other  sex,  I 
resolved  upon  resuming  thos"e  of  my  own  for  a  season,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  a  purpose  I  had  in  my  mind.  This  pur 
pose  I  felt  sure  I  could  accomplish  as  a  woman;  and  although 
I  had  a  tolerably  good  appreciation  of  the  perils  I  should  run, 
I  had  confidence  in  my  abilities  to  see  myself  through,  and 
the  perils  attending  my  enterprise  were  incentives,  rather 
than  otherwise,  for  me  to  attempt  it. 

Having  obtained  a  letter  of  introduction  to  General  Leon- 
idas  Polk,  and  my  transportation  papers,  —  for  it  was  my 
intention,  after  making  the  trip  I  had  immediately  in  view,  to 
visit  the  part  of  the  country  in  which  his  army  was  operating, 
as  it  was  more  familiar  to  me,  and  I  thought  that  I  could  per 
form  more  efficient  service  there  than  in  Virginia,  —  I  turned 
in  my  camp  equipage  to  the  quartermaster,  and  bidding  fare 
well  to  my  friends,  started  off  in  search  of  new  adventures. 

Stopping  in  Leesburg,  I  went,  in  company  with  a  couple  of 
other  officers,  to  pay  a  visit  to  Mrs.  Tyree,  a  brave  and  true- 
hearted  Virginia  lady,  who,  with  her  interesting  family,  had 
suffered  greatly  through  the  devastation  of  her  property  by 
the  enemy.  We  tried,  by  every  argument  we  could  imagine, 
to  persuade  her  to  remove  to  some  safer  locality,  representing 
that  the  Federals,  though  defeated  at  Ball's  Bluff,  were  likely 
to  repeat  the  attack  at  any  time,  and  to  march  on  Leesburg 
with  a  large  force.  Our  appeals  were  in  vain,  however,  and 
she  answered  every  argument,  by  saying,  "  This  is  my  home, 
and  I  will  perish  in  it,  if  necessary."  1  heartily  wished  that 
I  had  a  force  of  soldiers  under  my  command  at  the  moment, 
so  that  I  could  compel  her  to  remove  for  her  own  sake  and 
that  of  her  family ;  and  when  I  said  adieu  to  her,  it  was  with 
the  sincerest  admiration  for  her  inflexible  courage  and  her 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  South. 


A    DOUBLE   DISGUISE.  131 

THE  WAY  TO  KEEP  A  SECRET. 

Leaving  my  boy  where  he  would  be  taken  care  of,  I  stated 
to  my  acquaintances  that  I  intended  to  make  a  journey,  and 
that  I  expected  to  be  gone  about  ten  days,  but  did  not  tell 
any  one  where  I  was  going,  or  what  my  plans  were.  No  one 
but  myself  had  the  slightest  notion  as  to  what  project  I  had 
on  foot,  for  I  felt  that  success  would  very  largely  depend 
upon  my  secret  being  kept  to  myself,  at  least  until  I  had  ac 
complished,  or  had  tried  to  accomplish,  what  I  proposed. 
What  I  dreaded  more  than  any  dangers  I  was  likely  to  be 
exposed  to  was  the  ridicule  that  would  probably  meet  me  in 
case  of  failure,  to  say  nothing  of  the  probabilities  in  favor  of 
my  sex  being  discovered,  or  at  least  suspected.  But  ridicule, 
as  well  as  danger,  was  what  I  resolved  to  brave  when  put 
ting  on  male  attire,  and  I  really  dreaded  it  less  than  I  did  my 
own  heart-burnings  in  the  event  of  my  not  winning  the  des 
perate  game  I  was  playing.  The  way  to  keep  a  secret,  as  I 
had  long  since  found  out,  is  not  to  tell  it  to  anybody ;  and 
acting  upon  this  very  excellent  principle,  I  have  generally 
succeeded  in  keeping  my  secrets  —  and  I  have,  in  my  time, 
had  some  important  ones  —  until  the  proper  moment  for  re 
vealing  them  came.  Some  people  are  never  happy,  when 
possessed  of  a  secret  until  they  have  told  it  to  somebody 
else,  of  course  in  the  strictest  confidence.  My  experience  is 
that  this  is  a  sure  way  to  get  the  matter,  whatever  it  may  be, 
put  into  circulation  as  a  bit  of  general  information. 

ASSUMING  A  NEW  DISGUISE. 

It  was  necessary,  however,  for  me  to  have  some  assistance 
in  getting  my  enterprise  started,  just  as  it  had  been  for  me  to 
select  a  confidant  when  I  first  assumed  the  uniform  of  an  offi 
cer  ;  and  I  would  say  here  that,  to  the  infinite  honor  of  the 
friend  whose  aid  I  sought  on  that  occasion,  the  secret  of  my 
transformation  was  as  faithfully  kept  as  if  it  were  his  own ; 
but,  as  the  circumstances  were  different,  a  different  kind  of 
an  agent  was  in  this  case  selected.  My  appeal,  this  time,  was 
to  the  strongest  sentiments  of  self-interest,  and  even  then 
my  confidant  was  only  intrusted  with  the  knowledge  of  a 
change  of  apparel. 

Going  to  an  old  negro  woman  who  had  washed  for  me,  and 
who  had  shown  considerable  fondness  for  me,  I  told  her  that 


132  IN  SEARCH   OF   ADVENTURE. 

I  intended  visiting  the  Yankees  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
them  about  coming  and  freeing  the  colored  folk,  and  asked 
her  to  let  me  have  a  suit  of  woman's  clothes,  so  that  I  could 
get  through  the  lines  without  being  stopped.  I  made  up 
quite  a  long  yarn  about  what  I  proposed  to  do,  and  the  poor 
old  soul,  believing  all  I  told  her  without  a  moment's  hesita 
tion,  consented  to  aid  me  in  every  way  she  could,  her  ardor 
being  materially  quickened  by  a  twenty  dollar  Confederate 
note  which  I  handed  her. 

She  was  not  long  in  having  me  attired  in  the  best  she  had,  — 
a  calico  dress,  a  woollen  shawl,  a  sun-bonnet,  and  a  pair  of 
shoes  much  too  large  for  me,  —  and  hiding  away  my  uniform 
where  it  would  be  safe  during  my  absence,  she  started  me  off 
with  a  full  expectation  that  I  would  be  back  in  a  couple  of 
weeks,  with  the  whole  Yankee  army  at  my  back,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  liberating  all  the  slaves.  The  old  woman  put  such 
implicit  faith  in  me  that  I  really  felt  sorry  at  deceiving  her, 
bat  quieted  my  conscience  with  the  thought  that  lying  was  as 
necessary  as  fighting  in  warfare,  and  that  the  prospects  were 
that  I  would  be  compelled  to  do  much  more  fibbing  than  this 
before  the  errand  upon  which  I  was  about  starting  would  be 
achieved. 

CROSSING  THE  POTOMAC. 

Managing  to  make  my  way  to  the  river  without  attracting 
any  particular  attention,  I  found  an  old  negro  who  had  a  boat, 
and  making  up  a  story  that  I  fancied  would  answer  the  pur 
pose,  I  struck  a  bargain  with  him  to  take  me  across  to  the 
Maryland  shore  for  twenty-five  dollars.  He  was  eager  to  get 
the  money,  probably  never  having  handled  so  much  before  in 
his  life  at  any  one  time,  but  warned  me  that  it  would  be  a  risky 
piece  of  business,  for  the  weather  was  very  cold,  the  river 
broad  and  deep,  and  the  current  strong,  and  there  was  con 
siderable  danger  of  my  being  fired  at  by  the  pickets  on  either 
bank.  I  told  him  that  I  was  not  afraid  to  take  all  the  risks, 
and  that  I  thought  1  could  stand  the  cold.  I  accordingly 
concealed  myself  in  his  cabin  until  the  time  for  commencing 
the  crossing  arrived,  neither  of  us  deeming  it  prudent  to  start 
before  midnight. 

It  was  after  midnight  before  we  were  launched  in  our  little 
craft  on  the  black,  swift-running  water  of  the  Potomac,  and 
it  was  quite  three  hours  before  we  reached  the  opposite 
shore.  My  old  ferryman  pulled  lustily,  but  it  was  hard  work 


A  ROUGH  LODGING  PLACE.  133 

for  him,  although  the  handsome  fee  he  was  to  receive  when 
his  task  was  accomplished  was  a  decided  stimulant.  He 
really  had  the  best  of  it,  however,  in  having  some  work  to  do, 
for  the  night  air  was  bitter  cold,  and  I  was  thinly  clad.  I 
would  have  been  glad  to  have  taken  a  turn  at  the  oars,  just 
for  the  sake  of  warming  myself,  had  I  believed  myself  pos 
sessed  of  the  physical  strength  to  wield  them  with  efficiency. 
I  was  too  eager  to  get  over  this  unpleasant  and  hazardous 
part  of  my  journey,  however,  to  incur  any  delay  by  attempt 
ing  to  pull  an  oar,  and  bore  the  sharp  winds  that  swept  over 
the  water,  and  at  times  seemed  to  cut  me  to  the  bones,  with 
what  equanimity  I  could  command. 

At  length  we  reached  the  Maryland  side  of  the  river,  to 
my  infinite  satisfaction,  for  I  was  numb  with  the  cold,  and 
stiff  in  all  my  limbs,  from  the  cramped  position  in  which  I  had 
been  obliged  to  sit  in  the  boat,  and  was  heartily  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  tread  dry  land  once  more.  Dismissing  the 
boatman,  and  enjoining  him  not  to  say  anything,  I  made  my 
way  to  a  farm-house  which  I  espied  a  short  distance  from  the 
place  of  landing,  and  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  find 
ing  no  better  place  to  rest  my  weary  limbs,  I  crept  into  a 
wheat-stack,  and  slept  there  until  daylight. 

I  scarcely  know  whether  to  say  that  I  enjoyed  this  sort  of 
thing  or  not.  For  a  thinly  clad  woman  to  find  no  better  place 
for  repose  during  a  chilly  night  in  the  latter  part  of  October, 
after  having  endured  the  cutting  blasts  for  three  hours  while 
crossing  the  Potomac  in  an  open  boat,  was  certainly  hard 
lines.  It  is  true  that,  for  some  months,  I  had  accustomed  my 
self  to  tolerably  rough  living,  but  this  was  a  trifle  rougher 
than  anything  I  had  as  ye"t  experienced.  As  there  was  no 
one  but  myself  to  applaud  my  heroism,  this  particular  episode 
did  not,  and  could  not,  have  the  same  attraction  that  some 
even  more  perilous  ones  had  ;  and  yet,  despite  the  discom 
forts  of  the  situation,  I  had  a  certain  amount  of  satisfaction, 
and  even  of  pleasure,  in  going  through  with  it.  My  enjoy 
ment —  if  I  can  designate  my  peculiar  emotions  by  such  a 
word  —  I  can  only  attribute  to  my  insatiable  love  for  adven 
ture  ;  to  the  same  overmastering  desire  to  do  difficult,  dan 
gerous,  and  exciting  things,  and  to  accomplish  hazardous 
enterprises,  that  had  induced  me  to  assume  the  dress  of  the 
other  sex,  and  to  figure  as  a  soldier  on  the  battle-field. 

When  I  crept  into  that  wheat- stack,  however,  I  was  not  in 
a  mood  to  indulge  in  any  philosophical  reflections  on  the  sit- 


134  ON   DELICATE   GROUND. 

uation,  or  on  my  own  motives  or  feelings ;  I  was  simply  in 
search  of  a  reasonably  sheltered  place  where  I  could  repose 
until  morning ;  and  having  found  one,  I  was  not  long  in  clos 
ing  my  eyes,  and  lapsing  into  temporary  oblivion  of  the  cares 
and  trials  of  this  wicked  world. 

I  managed  to  get  a  nap  of  a  couple  of  hours'  duration, 
when  I  was  awakened  by  the  increasing  light,  and  by  the 
noises  of  the  farm-yard.  Adjusting  my  clothing  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  shaking  off  the  straw  that  clung  to  me,  I  approached 
the  house,  a  little  dubious  with  regard  to  the  kind  of  recep 
tion  I  should  get,  but  trusting  to  luck  to  be  able  to  obtain 
what  I  wanted.  A  man  came  out  to  meet  me,  and  looked 
rather  sullenly  at  me,  as  if  he  thought  me  a  suspicious  char 
acter,  whom  it  would  be  well  to  have  cautious  dealings  with. 
My  appearance  was  such  that  there  was  certainly  good  cause 
for  his  distrust.  The  old  colored  woman's  calico  dress, 
woollen  shawl,  sun-bonnet,  and  shoes  did  not  come  near  fitting 
me,  while  my  slumbers  in  the  wheat-stack  had  not  tended  to 
make  me  a  particularly  attractive  object.  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  believing  that  I  was  a  perfect  fright,  and  was  amused, 
rather  than  displeased,  at  the  rather  discourteous  reception  I 
met  with. 

Plucking  up  courage,  however,  I  advanced,  and  told  him 
that  I  had  been  driven  out  of  Virginia,  and  was  trying  to  get 
back  to  my  people  in  Tennessee.  I  did  not  give  any  hint  of 
my  political  predilections,  thinking  it  more  prudent  to  find 
how  he  and  his  folk  stood  first.  I  then  asked  him  if  I  could 
not  go  into  the  house  and  warm  myself,  and  get  some  break 
fast,  as  I  was  both  cold  and  hungry,  and  I  suppose  must  have 
looked  so  pitiable  that  he  felt  compelled  to  grant  my  request, 
if  only  for  charity's  sake.  He  accordingly  invited  me  into 
the  dining-room,  and  called  his  wife. 

When  the  woman  came,  I  told  a  long  rigmarole,  taking 
pains  to  show  that  I  had  some  money,  with  which  I  could,  if 
necessary,  pay  for  what  I  ate  and  drank.  My  story,  I  saw 
plainly,  did  not  take  very  well,  and  the  man  was  evidently 
afraid  to  say  much.  The  woman,  however,  soon  let  out  on 
the  Yankees  with  such  fiery  energy  that  I  understood  at  once 
how  matters  stood,  and  consequently  began  to  feel  more  at  my 
ease. 

I  now  began  to  embellish  my  story  with  plenty  of  abuse  of 
the  Yankees,  and  with  such  details  of  the  sufferings  I  had 
endured  on  account  of  my  having  sided  with  the  South,  that 


HOSPITALITIES.  135 

their  sympathies  were  at  once  aroused,  and  I  felt  certain  that 
I  could  easily  get  all  the  assistance  from  them  that  I  wished. 
Both  of  them  —  but  the  man  especially  —  were  eager  to  know 
all  about  the  battle.  I  had  told  them  that  I  had  just  come 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Leesburg,  and  I  accordingly  gave 
them  an  account  of  the  affair,  dilating  particularly  upon  the 
magnificent  manner  in  which  the  Confederates  had  whipped 
the  Yankees,  and  prophesying  that,  with  a  little  more  of  this 
kind  of  fighting,  there  would  soon  be  an  end  of  the  war. 

The  woman  now  invited  me  to  a  nice,  warm  breakfast, 
which  I  enjoyed  immensely,  for  I  was  desperately  hungry 
after  my  night's  adventure.  During  the  meal  I  showed  them 
a  letter,  written  by  myself,  for  use  in  such  an  emergency  as 
this,  which,  of  course,  tended  to  confirm  the  story  I  told,  and 
treated  them  to  the  style  of  conversation  they  evidently  liked 
to  hear.  After  breakfast  was  over,  the  woman,  taking  pity 
upon  my  mean  attire,  insisted  upon  dressing  me  in  some  of 
her  own  clothing.  I  was  soon,  therefore,  in  a  somewhat  more 
presentable  condition  than  I  had  been,  and,  having  obtained 
such  information  as  they  were  able  to  give  in  regard  to  the 
best  method  of  proceeding  in  order  speedily  to  reach  my  des 
tination,  I  bade  them  good-by,  sincerely  grateful  for  their 
kindness,  and  started  for  Washington,  where  I  hoped  to  be 
able  to  pick  up  some  useful  bits  of  information,  —  in  fact,  to 
make  what  the  soldiers  would  call,  a  reconnoissance  in  force. 


CHAPTER    XL 
IN    WASHINGTON. 

Inside  the  Enemy's  Lines.  —  Arrival  at  the  Federal  Capital.  —  Renewing 
an  Acquaintance  with  an  old  Friend.  —  What  I  found  out  by  a  judi 
cious  System  of  Questioning.  —  The  Federal  Plans  with  regard  to  the 
Mississippi.  —  An  Attack  on  New  Orleans  surmised.  —  A  Tour  around 
Washington.  —  Visit  to  the  War  Department,  and  Interview  with 
Secretary  Cameron  and  General  Wessells.  —  An  Introduction  to  the 
President.  —  Impressions  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  —  I  succeed  in  finding  out  a 
Thing  or  two  at  the  Post-Office.  —  Sudden  Departure  from  Washington. 
—  Return  to  Leesburg.  —  Departure  for  Columbus,  Kentucky. 

CAVING  once  penetrated  the  lines  of 
the  enemy,  there  was,  I  knew,  little 
to  fear.  As  a  Confederate  soldier,  I 
was  figuring  in  a  disguise  which  was 
likely,  at  any  time,  to  get  me  into 
trouble  of  some  sort,  and  not  the 
least  danger  I  saw  was  that  of 
being  arrested  as  a  spy.  When  I 
first  undertook  to  be  a  soldier,  this 
was  an  idea  that  never  occurred  to 
me ;  but  a  very  short  experience  in 
actual  campaigning  taught  me  that  I 
would  have  to  be  careful  to  prevent 
the  fact  that  I  was  disguised  from 
being  found  out,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  my  loyalty  to 
the  Southern  cause  might  not  be  suspected.  I  relied,  how 
ever,  upon  the  good  fighting  I  had  done,  and  the  other  services 
I  had  rendered,  which  were  proofs  of  the  genuineness  of  my 
devotion,  as  well  as  the  influence  of  my  friends  to  get  me  out 
of  any  scrape  into  which  I  might  fall  through  the  discovery 
that  I  was  not  a  man. 

Here,  in  the  enemy's  country,  however,  I  passed  for  exactly 
what  I  was,  with  nobody  nearer  than  Memphis  who  knew  me, 
both  as  a  man  and  as  a  woman,  and  I  consequently  felt 
perfectly  secure  in  moving  about  pretty  much  as  I  chose, 

136 


WASHINGTON  WELL   DEFENDED.  137 

having  a  plausible  story  on  the  end  of  my  tongue  to  tell  any 
body  who  might  question  me.  I  concluded  that,  as  it  was 
most  likely  I  would  meet  in  Washington  people  who  knew  me 
as  a  woman,  —  indeed,  I  relied  greatly  upon  finding  some 
acquaintance  through  whom  I  could  be  able  to  obtain  the 
kind  of  information  I  desired,  —  that  it  would  be  safer,  and  in 
all  respects  better  for  me  to  attempt  no  disguise,  but  to  figure 
as  myself,  and  as  nobody  else. 

ON  THE  ROAD  TO  WASHINGTON. 

The  kindness  of  my  friend,  the  farmer's  wife,  in  furnishing 
me  with  an  outfit  from  her  own  wardrobe,  enabled  me  to  make 
a  presentable  appearance,  for,  although  I  was  by  no  means 
elegantly  attired,  my  clothing  was  quite  good  enough  for  me 
to  pass  as  a  lady  ;  and  when  I  left  the  farm-house  and  started 
en  route  for  Washington,  it  was  with  a  light  heart,  and  with 
no  apprehensions  of  difficulty,  except,  perhaps,  in  getting 
back  safely,  and  of  being  able  to  resume  my  disguise  again 
without  being  discovered.  The  prospect  of  having  some 
trouble  in  these  respects,  however,  only  gave  a  zest  to  the 
adventure ;  and  as  I  had  managed  to  get  safely  within  the 
Federal  lines,  I  had  little  doubt  that  I  would  be  able  to  elude 
the  Confederate  pickets  in  returning,  especially  as  I  under 
stood  how  matters  were  managed  on  the  Virginia  side,  and 
knew,  or  thought  I  knew,  how  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  our 
boys. 

between  my  starting-point  on  the  Maryland  side  and 
Washington,  I  saw  a  good  many  soldiers,  from  which  I  judged 
that  the  approaches  to  the  Federal  capital  were  strongly 
guarded,  and  that  very  efficient  means  were  being  taken  to 
prevent  anything  like  a  surprise  on  the  part  of  the  Con 
federates.  This  was  the  most  important  information  I  suc 
ceeded  in  obtaining  ;  and  except  that  I  was  enabled  to  form 
some  estimates  of  the  force  that  was  guarding  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  Potomac  it  was  of  no  special  value,  as  it  was  well 
understood  among  the  Confederates  that  the  enemy  were  well 
prepared  to  resist  an  attack  upon  Washington,  and  were  con 
centrating  a  large  army  in  and  about  the  city. 

There  were  matters  better  worth  knowing  than  this  that  I 
hoped  to  discover ;  and  to  discover  them,  it  was  necessary  for 
me  to  go  to  Washington,  and  when  there,  to  obtain  facilities 
for  conversing  with  people  who  knew  what  I  wanted  to  know. 


138 


THE   FEDERAL    PLANS. 


I  had  a  plan  of  procedure  in  my  mind  in  which  I  had  great 
confidence,  but  I  really  trusted  more  to  circumstances  than 
to  any  definite  plan,  having  ample  belief  in  my  own  ability  to 
take  advantage  of  anything  that  might  turn  up.  While  on 
the  way  to  Washington,  therefore,  I  judged  it  prudent  to  do  as 
little  talking  as  possible,  although  I  kept  my  eyes  and  ears 
open  for  any  scraps  of  useful  knowledge  that  might  present 
themselves. 

ARRIVAL  IN  WASHINGTON. 

On  arriving  in  Washington,  I  went  to  Brown's  Hotel,  and 
having  learned  that  an  officer  of  the  regular  Federal  army, 
with  whom  I  was  well  acquainted,  and  who  had  been  a  warm 
personal  friend  of  my  late  husband,  was  in  the  city,  I  sent  him 
a  note,  asking  him  to  call  on  me.  He  came  to  see  me  very 
promptly  on  receiving  my  message,  and  greeting  me  with  a 
good  deal  of  cordiality,  expressed  a  desire  to  aid  me  in  any 
manner  that  lay  in  his  power.  I  told  him  that  I  was  just 
from  New  York,  and  making  up  a  plausible  story  to  account 
for  my  being  in  Washington,  began  to  question  him  about  the 
progress  of  the  war.  He  evidently  had  not  the  slightest  idea 
that  I  was  in  Washington  for  any  other  purpose  than  what  he 
would  have  considered  a  perfectly  legitimate  one,  and  con 
sequently  spoke  without  any  reserve  concerning  a  number  of 
matters  about  which  he  would  certainly  have  kept  silent  had 
he  suspected  that  I  had  just  come  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Potomac,  and  that  my  object  was  to  pick  up  items  of  informa 
tion  that  would  be  useful  to  the  Confederacy. 

He  greatly  lamented  the  defeat  which  the  Federals  had  met 
with  at  Ball's  Bluff,  and  from  what  he  said,  I  judged  that  the 
affair  was  the  great  sensation  of  the  hour,  and  that  it  had 
caused  much  discouragement,  not  only  in  the  army,  but  among 
all  classes  of  people  at  the  North.  Indeed,  my  friend  was 
decidedly  blue  when  discussing  the  subject,  and  expressed 
himself  in  very  energetic  terms  with  regard  to  the  rebels, 
little  thinking  that  he  was  conversing  with  one  who  had 
played  a  most  active  part  in  the  very  thickest  of  the  battle. 
He  went  on  to  say,  however,  that  it  was  expected  that  the 
deteat  at  Ball's  Bluff  would  be  more  than  compensated  for 
very  shortly,  and  that  in  Kentucky,  particularly,  the  Federals 
were  making  great  preparations  for  an  active  campaign,  which, 
it  was  hoped,  would  do  material  damage  to  the  Confederacy. 

I  succeeded,  by  judicious  questioning,  in  obtaining  a  few 


BROAD    HINTS   AND    SHARP   GUESSES.  139 

points  from  him  with  regard  to  the  operations  of  the  Federal 
forces  in  the  West ;  but;  although  he  was  tolerably  well  posted 
about  the  general  movements,  he  was  apparently  not  accurately 
informed  with  regard  to  particulars.  It  is  probable,  too,  that 
he  might  have  known  a  good  deal  that  he  did  not  choose  to  tell, 
even  to  me,  unsuspicious  as  he  was  about  my  real  character. 

SOMETHING  WORTH  KNOWING. 

The  information  of  most  vital  moment,  however,  that  I 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  him  was,  that  active  preparations 
were  being  made  to  secure  possession  of  the  upper  Mississippi, 
and  that  a  very  large  fleet  was  being  fitted  out  for  the  purpose 
of  blockading  the  mouth  of  the  river.  I  instantly  surmised 
from  this  that  an  attack  on  New  Orleans  was  in  contemplation, 
and  resolved  to  bend  my  energies,  during  my  stay  in  Wash 
ington,  to  the  task  of  finding  out  all  I  could  with  regard 
to  the  actual  intentions  of  the  Federal  government.  I  did 
succeed  in  obtaining  ample  confirmation  of  all  my  friend  told 
me,  and  to  a  limited  extent  of  my  guesses.  Those,  however, 
who  really  knew,  were  very  close-mouthed  about  what 
particular  work  was  being  cut  out  for  the  fleet  to  perform, 
and  the  desire  seemed  to  be  to  leave  the  impression  that  it 
was  to  undertake  blockade  duty  simply,  and  to  close  the  mouths 
of  the  river  to  the  ingress  and  egress  of  vessels.  There 
were  some  things  which  I  heard,  however,  that  did  not 
exactly  conform  to  this  theory,  and  by  the  time  I  left  Wash 
ington,  I  was  tolerably  well  convinced  that  a  grand  blow  was 
shortly  to  be  struck,  either  at  Mobile  or  New  Orleans,  but 
most  likely  at  the  latter  city.  I  pumped,  in  a  quiet  way, 
everybody  I  met,  who  was  at  all  likely  to  know  anything ;  but 
I  was  really  afraid  to  push  my  inquiries  too  far,  or  to  seem 
too  inquisitive,  as  I  did  not  care  to  be  suspected  as  a  spy  and 
put  under  surveillance,  especially  as  I  learned  that  the  gov 
ernment  was  greatly  annoyed  by  the  presence  of  numbers  of 
Confederate  spies  in  Washington,  and  was  disposed  to  deal 
vigorously  with  them  if  they  were  caught. 

This,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  simply  a  reconnoi 
tring  expedition,  undertaken  entirely  on  my  own  account, 
without  authority  from  anybody ;  and  while  I,  of  course, 
wanted  to  find  out  all  I  could,  my  real  object  was  more  to 
make  an  experiment  than  anything  else,  and  I  did  not  wish 
to  spoil  my  chances  for  future  operations  —  for  I  fully 


140  AN  INTERVIEW   WITH  SECEETARY   CAMERON. 

expected  to  visit  Washington  again  on  similar  service  to  this 
—  by  getting  into  trouble  just  then,  and  consequently  making 
myself  liable  to  suspicion  in  the  future. 

After  a  somewhat  prolonged  and  very  pleasant  conversation 
with  my  friend,  he  took  his  departure,  promising,  however,  to 
call  the  next  day,  and  as  I  was  a  stranger  in  Washington, — 
having  never  visited  the  city  before,  —  to  take  me  to  the 
different  places  of  interest.  This  was  exactly  what  I  wanted, 
for  I  was  desirous  of  being  informed,  as  soon  as  possible, 
exactly  where  the  public  offices  were  situated,  and  the  best 
means  of  obtaining  access  to  them,  and  I  counted  greatly 
upon  this  obliging  and  very  gallant  gentleman  unsuspectingly 
starting  me  on  the  right  road  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
ends  I  had  in  view. 

He  made  his  appearance  promptly  at  the  appointed  hour 
the  next  morning,  and  took  me  to  see  the  Patent  Office,  the 
Treasury  Department,  and  the  War  Department.  With  this 
latter,  especially,  I  was,  as  might  be  supposed,  particularly 
interested ;  and  skilfully  hinting  to  my  escort  an  intense  desire 
to  know  something  with  regard  to  how  the  operations  of  a 
great  conflict,  like  the  one  in  progress,  were  directed  from 
headquarters,  I  led  him  up  to  making  a  proposal  that  he 
should  introduce  me  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  In  a  demure 
sort  of  way,  I  expressed  myself  as  delighted  at  the  honor  of 
being  able  to  meet  so  great  a  man,  and  so,  in  a  few  moments 
more,  I  was  bowing,  in  my  politest  manner,  to  Secretary 
Cameron. 

AT  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT. 

The  secretary  seemed  to  be  busy,  and  evidently  did 
not  have  much  time  to  give  to  me,  and  my  conversation  with 
him  scarcely  amounted  to  more  than  an  exchange  of  the  most 
ordinary  civilities.  I  made  the  most  of  my  opportunities, 
however,  for  studying  his  face,  and  forming  some  estimate 
of  his  character. 

I  cannot  say  that  the  Secretary  of  War  impressed  me  very 
favorably.  He  was  abundantly  courteous  in  his  manners,  but 
there  was  a  crafty  look  in  his  eyes,  and  a  peculiar  expression 
about  his  mouth,  that  I  thought  indicated  a  treacherous  dis 
position,  and  that  I  did  not  like.  I  concluded  that  Mr. 
Cameron  would  be  a  hard  man  to  deal  with,  unless  dealing 
were  made  well  worth  his  while ;  but  in  spite  of  his  evident 
knowingness,  and  his  evident  confidence  in  his  own  abilities, 


FAVORABLE   IMPRESSIONS    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  141 

I  left  him,  feeling  tolerably  sure  that  I  could  prove  myself  a 
fair  match  for  him  in  case  our  wits  were  ever  brought  into 
conflict. 

I  was  much  better  pleased  with  General  Wessells,  the 
'Commissary  General  of  Prisoners,  to  whom  I  was  also  intro 
duced,  than  I  was  with  Secretary  Cameron.  He  was  very 
polite,  indeed,  and  I  decided  immediately  that  I  was  likely  to 
make  more  out  of  him  than  I  was  out  of  the  secretary.  On 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and  just  for  the  sake  of  feeling 
my  ground  with  him,  I  said,  in  a  careless  sort  of  way,  during 
our  conversation,  that  I  had  a  brother  who  was  a  prisoner, 
and  whom  I  would  like  to  see,  if  it  could  be  permitted, 
notwithstanding  that  he  was  on  the  wrong  side.  General 
Wessells  very  politely  said  that  I  could  see  him  if  I  wished ; 
whereupon  I  thanked  him,  and  said  that  I  would,  perhaps, 
shortly  avail  myself  of  his  kindness. 

The  reader  may  be  sure  that  while  at  the  War  Department 
I  saw  and  heard  all  I  could,  and  that  I  took  particular  pains 
to  note  the  movements  of  everybody,  and  to  observe  exactly 
how  things  were  done,  so  that  in  case  I  should  ever  be  obliged 
to  call  there  again  on  any  special  errand,  I  should  feel 
reasonably  at  home,  and  be  able  to  go  about  whatever  work 
I  had  in  hand  with  as  little  embarrassment  as  possible. 

A  VISIT  TO  MR.  LINCOLN. 

From  the  War  Department  we  went  to  the  White  House, 
where  my  friend  said  he  would  introduce  me  to  the  President. 
I  really  had  some  dread  of  this  interview,  although  I  experi 
enced  a  great  curiosity  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  would  not 
have  willingly  missed  such  an  opportunity  as  this  of  meeting 
him.  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  him,  of  course,  and 
not  much  that  was  favorable,  either  as  regards  his  charac 
ter  or  his  personal  appearance,  and  I  considered  him  more 
than  any  one  person  responsible  for  the  war.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
however,  was  an  agreeable  disappointment  to  me,  as  I  have 
no  doubt  he  was  to  many  others.  He  was  certainly  a  very 
homely  man,  but  he  was  not  what  I  should  call  an  ugly  man, 
for  he  had  a  pleasant,  kindly  face,  and  a  pleasantly  familiar 
manner,  that  put  one  at  ease  with  him  immediately. 

I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  exchange  a  great  many 
words  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  my  interview,  brief  as  it  was, 
induced  me  to  believe,  not  only  that  he  was  not  a  bad  man, 


142  LOUD   SECRETS. 

but  that  he  was  an  honest  and  well-meaning  one,  who  thought 
that  he  was  only  doing  his  duty  in  attempting  to  conquer  the 
South.  He  impressed  me  in  a  very  different  way  from  the 
Secretary  of  War ;  and  I  left  the  White  House,  if  not  with  a 
genuine  liking  for  him,  at  least  with  many  of  my  preju 
dices  dispelled,  and  different  feelings  towards  him  than  I 
had  when  I  entered. 

My  change  of  sentiment  with  regard  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  may 
be  supposed,  did  not  influence  me  in  the  least  with  regard  to  my 
own  opinions  concerning  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  contest 
between  the  North  and  the  South,  nor  did  I  allow  it  to  inter 
fere  in  any  way  with  the  carrying  out  of  my  plans.  I  was 
simply  trying  to  do  my  duty,  just  as  I  suppose  he  was  trying 
to  do  his,  as  he  understood  it ;  and  I  was,  equally  with  him, 
determined  to  aid,  by  every  means  in  my  power,  the  particular 
side  I  advocated. 

After  leaving  the  White  House,  we  visited  the  Capitol,  and 
listened  to  the  debates  in  Congress  for  a  while  ;  but  as  the 
subjects  which  the  senators  and  representatives  happened  to 
be  discussing  at  the  moment  were  of  no  particular  interest  to 
me,  I  had  more  pleasure  in  looking  about  the  really  noble 
building  than  I  had  in  hearing  them  talk. 

Our  next  visit  was  made  to  the  Post  Office,  where  my  friend 
had  some  business  to  transact.  Here  I  succeeded  in  finding 
out  a  number  of  things  I  wanted  to  know,  and  obtained  some 
really  important  information,  simply  by  listening  to  the  con 
versation  I  heard  going  on  around  me,  which  is  a  demonstra 
tion  of  the  necessity  for  people  who  do  not  want  their  secrets 
discovered  by  the  very  ones  whom  it  is  desirable  should  not 
discover  them,  not  to  do  too  much  loud  talking  before  total 
strangers.  I  was  really  annoyed  at  some  of  the  conversation 
I  heard  between  government  officials  while  at  the  Post 
Office,  and  wondered  how  the  Federal  authorities  ever 
expected  to  prevent  the  Confederates  from  finding  out  their 
plans  if  this  kind  of  thing  was  going  on  all  the  time. 

My  tour  around  Washington,  and  especially  my  visit  to  the 
War  and  Post  Office  Departments,  convinced  me,  not  only  that 
Washington  would  be  a  first-rate  place  for  me  to  operate  in, 
if  I  could  obtain  a  definite  attachment  to  the  detective  corps, 
but  that  I  had  the  abilities  to  become  a  good  detective,  and 
would,  in  a  very  short  time,  be  able  to  put  the  Confederate 
authorities  in  possession  of  information  of  the  first  value  with 
regard  to  the  present  and  prospective  movements  of  the  enemy. 


UNREALIZED    EXPECTATIONS.  143 

Having  fulfilled  my  errand,  and  accomplished  all  that  I  had 
expected  when  starting  out  on  this  trip,  I  left  Washington  as 
suddenly  as  I  had  entered  it,  giving  my  friend  to  understand 
that  I  was  going  to  New  York.  I  had  as  little  trouble  in 
getting  back  to  Leesburg  as  I  had  in  getting  away  from  it, 
and  put  in  an  appearance  at  the  house  of  the  old  colored 
woman,  who  had  my  uniform  hid  away  for  me,  within  thirteen 
days  from  the  time  I  left  it. 

IN  UNIFORM  AGAIN. 

Attiring  myself  once  more  in  the  garb  of  a  Confederate 
officer,  I  returned  the  old  woman  her  calico  dress,  shawl,  sun- 
bonnet,  and  shoes,  and  in  response  to  her  eager  inquiries,  told 
her  a  good  deal  of  nonsense  about  the  Yankees  being  on  their 
way  to  free  the  colored  people,  and  made  her  believe  that 
they  would  soon  be  along.  My  other  suit  of  female  clothing 
I  took  up  to  the  hotel  with  me,  and  told  my  boy  Bob,  who 
seemed  to  be  very  curious  about  them,  that  I  had  bought 
them  for  my  girl.  Bob  seemed  to  be  delighted  to  see  me 
again,  as  he  had  been  apprehensive,  from  my  long  absence, 
that  something  had  happened,  and  that  I  might  never  return. 
He  was  most  anxious  to  know  where  I  had  been ;  but  I  put  a 
short  stop  to  his  questionings  on  that  topic,  by  giving  him 
orders  to  have  everything  ready  for  an  early  start  on  a  long 
journey  in  the  morning.  The  next  day  we  were  en  route 
for  Columbus,  Tennessee,  where  I  expected  to  find  General 
Polk,  under  whom  I  was  now  desirous  of  serving. 

Like  hundreds  of  others,  I  had  gone  to  Virginia  with  the 
opening  of  summer,  inspired  by  high  hopes  and  great  expec 
tations.  These  hopes  and  expectations  were  far  from  being 
realized,  although  I  had  succeeded  in  gratifying  some  of  the 
most  ardent  desires  that  had  animated  me  in  setting  out,  for  I 
had  gone  through  with  a  number  of  perilous  adventures,  such 
as  would  have  certainly  satisfied  the  ambition  of  most  women. 
Notwithstanding,  however,  that  the  Confederates  had  won  the 
first  great  victory,  it  became  apparent,  at  an  early  day, 
that  a  single  battle  was  not  going  to  finish  the  war,  and  that 
if  the  South  was  to  achieve  its  independence,  it  must  go 
through  a  long  and  bloody  conflict.  My  visit  to  Washington 
more  than  confirmed  the  opinion  I  had  formed,  that  the 
Federals  were  in  command  of  enormous  resources  in  compari 
son  with  ours,  and  that  they  were  settling  down  to  a  deadly 


144  DISAPPOINTED   BUT   NOT  DISCOURAGED. 

determination  to  bring  all  their  resources  to  bear  for  the 
purpose  of  fighting  the  thing  out  to  the  bitter  end.  When  I 
took  the  back  track,  therefore,  nearly  six  months  from  the 
time  of  starting  out,  and  when  the  chill  winds  of  winter  were 
beginning  to  make  their  severity  felt  by  the  poor  soldiers,  I 
was  prepared  for  a  long  and  desperate  war,  which  would  be  a 
very  different  thing  from  the  holiday  affair  which  my  Arkan 
sas  recruits,  in  common  with  many  others,  had  expected.  I 
was  as  resolute  as  ever  in  my  determination  to  see  the  thing 
out,  however,  and  I  experienced  even  a  certain  amount  of 
pleasure  in  the  certainty  that  a  prolonged  struggle  would 
afford  me  abundant  opportunities  for  exciting  and  perilous 
adventures.  There  was  not  a  man  in  the  Confederacy  who 
was  more  willing  to  fight  to  the  last  than  I  was,  or  who  was 
willing  to  venture  into  greater  peril  for  the  sake  of  the  cause  ; 
and,  perhaps,  if  all  the  men  had  been  as  eager  to  find  the  last 
ditch  as  myself,  before  giving  up,  the  war  might  have  had  a 
different  termination. 

This  is  something,  however,  about  which  it  is  scarcely 
worth  while  to  speculate  now.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  I 
left  Virginia  in  a  different  mood  from  that  in  which  I  had 
entered  it.  Experience  had  opened  my  e}'es  to  a  good  many 
things  I  did  not  clearly  understand  before,  but  although  in 
some  particulars  I  was  disappointed,  I  was  certainly  not 
discouraged  ;  and  my  head  was  as  full  of  ideas,  and  of  much 
better  arranged,  and  more  practical  plans,  than  it  was  when  I 
resolved  to  become  a  soldier.  I  now  knew  tolerably  well 
what  I  could  do,  and  the  particular  kind  of  work  I  could  do 
best,  and  I  was  as  enthusiastic  as  ever,  although,  perhaps,  in 
a  more  sober  fashion,  to  give  the  cause  the  benefit  of  my  best 
exertions. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

ACTING  AS  MILITARY   CONDUCTOR. 

At  Memphis  again.  —  Ending  my  first  Campaign.  —  My  Friend  the  Cap 
tain  and  I  exchange  Notes.  —  I  reach  Columbus  and  report  to  General 
Leonidas  Polk.  —  Assigned  to  Duty  as  Military  Conductor.  — Unavailing 
Blandishments  of  the  Women.  —  A  mean  Piece  of  Malice.  —  General 
Lucius  M.  Polk  tries  to  play  a  trick  on  me.  —  The  Path  of  Duty.  —  The 
General  put  under  Arrest.  —  An  Explanation  concerning  a  one-sided 
Joke.  —  I  become  dissatisfied,  and  tender  my  Resignation.  —  A  Request 
to  return  to  Virginia  and  enter  the  Secret  Service.  — Acceptance  of  my 
Resignation.  —  The  Lull  before  the  Storm. 

FEW  days  of  hard  travel,  and  I  was  back  at 
my  starting-point,  Memphis,  having  made  the 
circuit  of  the  entire  Confederacy  east  of  the 
Mississippi.  I  was  wiser  by  a  good  deal  of  val 
uable  practical  knowledge  than  I  was  when 
I  set  out  on  my  Arkansas  recruiting  expedition,  and  I 
had  passed  through  scenes  that  made  it  seem  years,  in 
stead  of  a  few  short  months,  since  I  had  made  my  first 
important  attempt  at  practising  essentially  character 
istic  masculine  manners  with  the  damsel  in  yellow  calico 
down  there  at  Hurlburt  Station.  The  mere  school- girl  ro 
mance  had  been  pretty  well  knocked  out  of  me  by  the  rough 
experiences  of  actual  warfare.  I  thought  very  little  just 
then  about  Joan  of  Arc,  or  indeed,  about  any  of  the  dead  and 
gone  heroes  and  heroines ;  but  my  mind  was  considerably 
occupied  with  my  own  fortunes,  and  with  those  of  the  cause 
to  which  I  had  pledged  myself. 

My  experiences  —  I  do  not  allude  to  the  mere  hardships  of  a 
soldier's  life  —  had  not  all  been  of  the  most  pleasurable  kind. 
I  had  learned  much  concerning  some  of  the  very  weak  points 
of  human  nature ;  that  all  men  are  not  heroes  who  wish  to  be 
considered  as  such  ;  that  self-seeking  was  more  common  than 
patriotism ;  that  mere  courage  sufficient  to  face  the  enemy  in 
battle  is  not  a  very  rare  quality,  and  is  frequently  associated 
with  meanness  of  spirit ;  that  it  is  easier  to  meet  the  enemy 
10  145 


146  RETURN   TO   MEMPHIS. 

bravely  in  battle,  than  it  is  to  exercise  one's  brains  so  as  to 
meet  him  most  effectively ;  that  great  names  are  not  always 
worthily  borne  by  great  men,  and  that  a  spirit  of  petty  jeal 
ousy  is  even  more  prevalent  in  a  camp  than  it  is  in  a  girl's 
boarding-school.  These  and  a  good  many  other  things  worth 
knowing,  even  if  the  knowledge  was  not  of  the  most  agreeable 
kind,  I  had  picked  up,  as  well  as  much  information  of  a  dif 
ferent  sort,  that  qualified  me  to  make  a  second  start  as  some 
thing  better  than  an  apprentice  in  the  art  of  war. 

Notwithstanding  many  unpleasant  things  connected  with 
this,  my  first  campaign,  however,  I  had  certainly  enjoyed 
myself  immensely,  after  a  certain  fashion ;  for,  to  have  taken 
part  in  two  such  battles  as  that  at  Bull  Run  and  that  at  Ball's 
Bluff;  and  to  have  satisfactorily  attempted  a  trip  to  Washing 
ton  for  the  sake  of  finding  out  what  they  were  doing  in  the 
Federal  capital,  were  experiences  that  more  than  counterbal 
anced  some  which  I  could  not  reflect  upon  with  equal  com 
placency.  If  I  returned  to  Memphis  a  disappointed  woman  in 
certain  particulars,  I  also  returned  a  hopeful  one,  for  I  knew 
better  now  how  to  go  about  the  work  1  had  in  hand ;  and  as 
it  was  evident  that  some  of  the  hardest  fighting  of  the  war 
was  to  be  done  in  this  region,  I  confidently  expected  to  have 
abundant  opportunity  to  distinguish  myself,  both  as  a  soldier 
and  as  a  scout,  and  had  scarcely  a  doubt  of  being  employed  in 
such  services  as  I  was  best  qualified  to  perform. 

READY  TO  MAKE  ANOTHER  START. 

Behold  me,  then,  back  in  Memphis,  ready  to  commence 
a  second  campaign,  inspired  by  a  different  kind  of  enthusiasm 
from  that  which  moved  me  when  I  shocked  my  husband  and 
the  friend  whom  1  persuaded  to  assist  me  in  my  enterprise, 
by  my  determination  to  be  a  soldier,  but  even  more  firmly 
resolved  to  do  my  full  share  of  the  fighting,  and  to  give  the 
Confederate  cause  the  benefit  of  all  my  energy,  wit,  and 
courage. 

The  friend  of  whom  I  have  spoken  I  still  found  in  Memphis. 
He  was  now  captain  in  the  Confederate  service,  and  on  my 
meeting  with  him  he  seemed  both  rejoiced  and  surprised  to 
see  me  again.  We  did  not  have  much  of  an  opportunity  to 
talk  matters  over,  as  I  was  anxious  to  get  to  Columbus  as  soon 
as  possible,  but  I  contrived  to  find  time  to  relate  briefly  some 
of  my  adventures,  and  he  appeared  to  be  intensely  interested 


PREPARATIONS   FOR   A    GREAT   STRUGGLE.  147 

in  my  recital.  It  astonished  him  somewhat  to  find  that  what 
I  had  seen  of  warfare  had  not  disgusted  me  with  it,  and  that 
I  was  bent  upon  being  a  soldier  so  long  as  there  was  any 
fighting  to  do ;  but  this  time,  however,  he  made  no  attempt  to 
dissuade  me  from  my  purpose,  being  perfectly  well  convinced 
of  my  ability  to  take  care  of  myself.  Wishing  each  other  good 
luck,  we  parted  again,  and  I  took  the  first  boat  for  Columbus, 
where  I  expected  to  find  General  Leonidas  Polk. 

On  landing  at  Columbus,  I  gave  my  equipage  and  the  tw® 
horses  I  had  bought  at  Memphis,  in  charge  of  Bob,  with  direc 
tions  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  on  them,  and  went  to  Barnes'  Hotel, 
to  see  if  I.  could  come  across  anybody  I  knew,  and  to  make 
the  inquiries  necessary  for  my  next  movement. 

Columbus  was  one  of  the  liveliest  places  I  had  ever  visited, 
or  at  least  it  seemed  so  that  evening.  There  was  an  immense 
amount  of  bustle  and  confusion,  and  everything  seemed  to 
indicate  that  the  campaign  in  this  region  was  being  pushed 
with  considerable  energy  ;  although,  as  I  had  found  out  before, 
noise  and  activity  in  and  about  headquarters  do  not  always 
mean  remarkable  energy  in  the  field ;  for  an  obstinate  enemy, 
bent  on  doing  some  hard  fighting,  takes  a  good  deal  of  the 
nonsense  out  of  mere  cabinet  generalship.  Soon  after  supper 
I  got  my  tent  up,  and  the  next  morning  I  went  in  search  of 
the  general  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  my  letter. 

I   REPORT    FOR   DUTY   TO    GENERAL    POLK.' 

General  Polk,  who  had  been  a  bishop  before  the  war  broke 
out,  received  me  cordially  enough,  although  he  seemed  to  be 
too  busy  to  do  much  talking,  and  after  reading  my  letter, 
dismissed  me  with  the  rather  indefinite  observation  that  he 
would  see  what  he  could  do  for  me.  This  might  mean  any 
thing  or  nothing ;  but  as  I  had  no  other  resource  than  to  wait 
and  see  what  conclusion  he  would  come  to  with  regard  to  me, 
I  made  my  bow  and  retired,  determined  to  be  as  patient  as 
my  impatient  disposition  would  let  me. 

While  waiting  for  the  general  to  assign  me  to  duty  I  visited 
the  different  camps,  made  a  number  of  acquaintances,  and 
picked  up  what  information  I  could  about  the  military  situa 
tion  in  the  West.  Everybody  was  expecting  hard  fighting, 
and  a  desperate  struggle  with  the  Federals  for  the  possession 
of  the  Mississippi,  as  it  seemed  to  be  well  understood  that  the 
enemy  were  making  great  preparations  for  some  heavy  work 


148  ON   DUTY   AS   MILITARY   CONDUCTOR. 

on  this  river.  It  was  thought,  however,  that  the  defences 
were  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  any  attacks,  and  the  idea 
that  an  attempt  would  ere  a  great  while  be  made  against  New 
Orleans  by  way  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  scarcely  enter 
tained  seriously  by  any  one.  I  thought  differently  ;  but  then 
I  had  special  reasons  for  my  own  opinions,  which  I  did  not 
consider  it  necessary  to  communicate  to  all  of  my  new-made 
friends,  deeming  it  prudent  to  keep  quiet  about  my  visit  to 
Washington,  although  ready  enough  to  tell  all  I  knew  con 
cerning  the  military  situation  in  Virginia  in  exchange  for 
what  I  learned  from  them  about  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
West. 

The  third  day  after  my  arrival  at  Columbus,  General  Polk 
sent  for  me,  and  told  me  that  he  had  assigned  me  to  the  detec 
tive  corps.  I  was  considerably  elated  at  this,  as  I  supposed 
that  he  intended  to  employ  me  in  running  through  the  lines  as 
a  spy.  I  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  this  kind  of  service,  and 
felt  myself  especially  well  qualified  for  it.  I  wanted  some 
thing  to  do  that  would  keep  me  constantly  employed,  and 
especially  that  would  require  me  to  give  my  whole  mind  to 
whatever  task  I  had  in  hand.  There  was  an  element  of  posi 
tive  peril  in  scout  duty  that  had  a  wonderful  fascination  for 
me,  and  that  I  felt  would  give  me  a  keen  enjoyment,  such  as 
lounging  around  a  camp,  with  only  the  disagreeable  routine 
of  campaigning,  broken  by  an  occasional  battle,  could  never 
afford. 

I   AM   MADE   A   MILITARY   CONDUCTOR. 

I  was  not  particularly  well  pleased,  therefore,  when  I  found 
that  I  was  to  run  on  the  cars  as  military  conductor.  This, 
however,  was  active  duty  of  a  specific  kind,  and  I  thought 
that  perhaps  it  might  lead  to  something  better,  or  might  even 
offer  me  opportunities  for  distinguishing  myself  that  I  did  not 
suspect.  I  took  it,  therefore,  without  complaining,  resolved 
to  do  my  best  while  on  duty,  and  to  resign  the  position,  and 
go  elsewhere  for  employment,  so  soon  as  I  found  the  service 
getting  too  uncongenial.  I  accordingly  went,  under  orders 
from  General  Polk,  to  Camp  Beauregard,  where  I  was  directed 
to  relieve  Captain  Jannett,  on  the  Nashville  road. 

It  was  while  acting  in  the  capacity  of  military  conductor  on 
this  road  that  some  of  the  most  amusing  incidents  of  my 
career  occurred,  or,  at  least,  incidents  that  were  amusing 
enough  to  me  at  the  time,  although  I  presume  that  they  would 


,       FEMININE   WILES.  149 

seem  stupid  enough  on  repetition ;  for  many  of  the  events  of 
our  lives  that  cause  the  heartiest  laughter,  depend  so  much  on 
the  surroundings  arid  accessories,  that  it  is  difficult  to  raise 
even  a  smile  at  them  when  narrated.  Nearly  every  day, 
however,  little  controversies  would  occur  between  myself  and 
ladies  who  tried  to  beguile  me  with  their  smiles,  little  sus 
pecting  how  well  fortified  I  was  against  their  fascinating  arts  ; 
and  I  often  laughed  heartily  to  myself  at  noting  the  nice  fem 
inine  wiles  that  were  brought  to  bear  to  beguile  me  from  the 
strict  line  of  my  duty.  I  am  afraid  that,  had  I  been  a  man, 
some  of  these  wiles  would  have  been  successful ;  but  as,  in 
spite  of  my  garments,  I  was  compelled  to  view  the  arts  of  my 
feminine  passengers,  and  would-be  passengers,  from  a  feminine 
standpoint,  I  am  scarcely  able  to  doubt  that  the  military  con- 
ductorship  on  this  particular  line  was  run  on  more  rigidly 
virtuous  principles,  during  my  term  of  service,  than  before  or 
afterwards. 

My  duty  was  to  run  on  the  trains  and  examine  passes,  fur 
loughs,  and  leaves  of  absence ;  and  as  I  could  place  any  one 
under  arrest  who  was  not  travelling  with  the  right  kind  of 
papers,  or  who  was  unprovided  with  papers  of  any  kind,  I  was 
a  personage  of  considerable  importance,  not  only  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  who  were  going  back  and  forth,  but  to  the  ladies, 
who  courted  me  with  remarkable  assiduity,  with  a  view  of 
inducing  me  to  grant  them  favors.  The  women  folk  tor 
mented  me  a  good  deal  more  than  the  men  did,  for  the  average 
masculine  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  the  rigors  of  military 
discipline,  and  was  consequently  manageable,  while  my  own 
sex  relied  on  accomplishing,  by  means  of  their  fascinations, 
what  was  impossible  to  the  men.  They  would  make  all  kinds 
of  excuses,  and  tell  all  kinds  of  improbable  stories,  to  induce 
me  to  pass  them ;  but  as  I  put  a  stop  to  all  that  kind  of  non 
sense  at  the  very  start,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  do  business 
on  strictly  military  principles,  I  soon  became  anything  but 
popular.  Occasionally  some  of  my  would-be  charmers,  finding 
it  impossible  to  make  any  impression  on  me,  would  abuse  me 
roundly  for  refusing  to  grant  their  request.  This,  of  course, 
did  not  have  any  other  effect  than  to  afford  me  much  amuse 
ment  ;  but  it  enabled  me  to  understand  why  my  predecessor 
seemed  so  well  pleased  at  being  relieved,  although  I  have 
doubts  as  to  whether  he  was  as  strict  in  enforcing  the  regu 
lations  as  myself.  Indeed,  I  have  excellent  reasons  for  be- 
'lieving  that  he  was  not  at  all  strict. 


150  A  MALICIOUS   ACCUSATION. 

While  the  women,  as  a  rule,  gave  me  the  most  trouble,  there 
were  a  good  many  hard  customers  among  the  men,  with  whom 
it  was  not  easy  to  have  pleasant  dealings.  Merely  obstrep 
erous  fellows,  however,  I  could  generally  manage  by  letting 
them  see  that  I  was  dead  in  earnest ;  but  there  were  plenty 
of  officers  who  were  willing  to  violate  orders,  and  then 
put  the  blame,  in  case  there  should  be  any  trouble,  on  my 
shoulders,  and  who  took  it  as  a  personal  grievance  that  I 
would  not  let  them  travel  without  the  proper  papers.  One 
malicious  scoundrel,  because  I  would  not  permit  him  to  travel 
without  a  pass,  trumped  up  a  most  scandalous  false  charge 
against  me,  to  General  Lucius  M.  Polk,  who  undertook  to  look 
into  the  matter  himself. 

FOLLOWING  THE  PATH  OP  DUTY. 

I  did  not  know  or  suspect  of  anything  being  wrong ;  and 
had  I  been  other  than  resolutely  bent  upon  doing  my  whole 
duty,  at  all  hazards,  I  should  probably  have  fallen  into  the  trap 
so  cunningly  laid  for  me  on  this  occasion.  I  had  seen  enough 
of  military  life,  however,  to  know  that  the  only  safe  course 
for  a  soldier  is  to  obey  orders,  no  matter  who  suffers  ;  and,  as 
my  orders  were  to  pass  no  one  unprovided  with  the  right  kind 
of  papers,  I  was  resolved  to  carry  them  out  to  the  letter, 
under  all  circumstances,  without  regard  to  consequences.- 

General  Polk,  bent  upon  knowing  how  I  was  making  out  as 
military  conductor,  and  whether  I  was  entirely  trustworthy,— 
it  having  been  reported  to  him,  by  the  scamp  referred  to,  that 
I  was  not,  —  stepped  aboard  the  train  with  a  ten  days'  leave 
of  absence  in  his  pocket.  He  probably  thought  that  I  was  as 
good  as  detected  in  neglecting  my  duty,  but  he  found  out  his 
mistake  before  he  got  through ;  and  if  he  had  not  taken  the 
precaution  to  provide  himself  with  the  proper  official  docu 
ments  before  starting,  the  ending  of  the  adventure  would  have 
been  anything  but  a  merry  one  for  him,  for  I  should  certainly 
have  arrested  him. 

A  GAME  OF  BLUFF. 

On  entering  the  car,  I  sang  out,  as  usual,  "  Show  your 
passes,  gentlemen." 

The  general  turned  his  head,  and  commenced  looking  out 
of  the  window  rather  intently,  as  travellers  not  provided  with 
passes  were  very  much  in  the  habit  of  doing.  When  I  reached* 


A   JOKE   THAT   WAS   NO   JOKE.  151 

him,  in  going  through  the  car,  1  gently  tapped  his  shoulder, 
and  said,  **  Have  you  a  pass  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  he.  "  Won't  you  let  me  go  through  without 
one?"  , 

"  No  sir,"  I  replied ;  "  I  cannot  pass  any  one.  My  orders  are 
very  strict,  especially  with  regard  to  officers  and  soldiers." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  don't  you  think  you  could  go  back  on 
your  orders  for  once  ?  Did  you  never  favor  a  friend  in  this 
line  ?  " 

"  Sir,"  I  answered,  rather  severely,  "  I  know  no  friends  in 
connection  with  my  duty,  or  general  orders." 

"  Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  in  my  case ;  for  1  haven't 
got  any  pass,"  said  the  general. 

I  replied,  "  I  will  send  you  back  to  headquarters,  under 
guard." 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  do  you  know,  sir,  that  I  am  General 
Polk  ? "  putting  on  all  the  magnificent  style  he  could  com 
mand  as  he  spoke. 

I  was  considerably  nettled,  both  by  his  conduct  in  endeav 
oring  to  persuade  me  to  pass  him  in  violation  of  orders  and 
by  his  manner,  and  so  said,  rather  sharply,  "  I  don't  care,  sir, 
who  you  are ;  you  can't  travel  on  this  line  without  a  pass, 
even  if  you  are  Jeff  Davis  himself." 

I  was,  by  this  time,  rather  angry,  and  determined  to  have 
no  further  controversy  with  him ;  so  I  called  a  soldier  to  take 
charge  of  him,  while  I  finished  going  through  the  train. 

The  conductor,  who  had  seen  the  whole  performance,  and 
who  was  afraid  that  I  was  getting  myself  into  serious  trouble, 
strongly  advised  me  to  release  the  general,  and  to  pass  him 
through  as  he  desired.  I  told  him.  however,  that  I  under 
stood  my  duty  perfectly,  and  that  I  intended  to  perform  it  to 
the  letter,  in  this  as  in  every  other  instance  ;  and  that  if  Gen 
eral  Polk  didn't  know  better  than  to  undertake  to  travel  with 
out  his  papers,  he  would  have  to  bear  the  consequences. . 

When  we  were  nearing  the  station.  General  Polk  beckoned 
to  me,  and  said,  "  I  have  a  leave  of  absence." 

I  held  out  my  hand,  and  he  produced  it  from  his  pocket, 
laughing  as  he  did  so  at  what  he  evidently  considered  a  good 
joke  on  the  military  conductor.  I  looked  at  it,  and  returned 
it,  simply  saying,  "  That  is  all  right,  sir."  The  general  held 
out  his  hand  to  me  with  a  very  cordial  smile,  and  was  evi 
dently  desirous  of  doing  away  with  any  ill  feeling  that  the 
incident  might  have  occasioned  on  my  side.  I  was  very  badly 


152  AN   INVITATION   TO   ENTER   THE   SECRET   SERVICE. 

vexed,  however,  that  he  should  have  attempted  to  play  such 
a  trick  upon  me,  and  to  have  doubted  my  honor  j  and  I  did 
not  receive  his  greeting  with  any  great  amount  of  cordiality, 
being  resolved,  in  my  own  mind,  to  be  even  with  kirn  some 
day. 

On  his  return,  General  Polk  explained  the  whole  affair,  and 
apologized  very  handsomely  for  having  made  such  a  test  of 
my  fidelity.  I  told  him  very  plainly,  however,  that  I  did  not 
like  that  sort  of  thing,  and  that  I  proposed  to  tender  my  res 
ignation  shortly,  as  I  preferred  service  in  the  field  to  duty 
like  this,  where  I  had  to  be  acting  the  part  of  a  spy  on  the 
people  all  the  time,  while  being  myself  subjected  to  the  sur 
veillance  of  my  superiors  in  a  manner  that  was  far  from  agree 
able.  He  attempted  to  discourage  me  from  indulging  in  the 
idea  of  resigning ;  but  although  I  did  not  care  to  argue  the 
matter  with  him,  my  mind  was  fully  made  up  to  try  my  luck 
in  some  other  line  of  duty. 

I   AM   WANTED   IN  VIRGINIA. 

I  was  the  more  anxious  to  get  away,  as  I  had  received  an 
urgent  letter  from  my  friend,  Captain  Shankey,  asking  me  to 
return  to  Virginia  and  enter  the  secret  service.  This  would 
have  suited  me  exactly,  had  I  been  certain  of  getting  the 
kind  of  employment  I  wanted  by  complying  with  Captain 
Shankey's  request.  But  having  just  come  from  Virginia, 
where  I  had  been  for  a  number  of  months  waiting  in  vain  for 
a  fair  chance  to  make  myself  useful  in  such  a  manner  that  I 
could  take  a  genuine  pride  and  interest  in  my  work,  I  was 
disposed  to  wait  a  while  and  see  something  of  military  opera 
tions  in  the  West  before  returning.  This  call  to  go  East  was, 
however,  a  good  pretext  for  throwing  up  a  position  that  was 
becoming  unpleasant,  and  that  promised  to  be  abundantly  an 
noying,  without  offering  any  corresponding  advantages.  It 
was  an  additional  string  to  my  bow,  and  I  could,  at  least,  con 
sider  it  while  making  another  effort  to  tempt  Fortune,  before 
putting  in  an  appearance  on  my  old  campaign  ground  again. 

It  was  really,  however,  my  intention  to  go  back  to  Virginia, 
so  soon  as  I  could  get  relieved  from  the  duty  I  was  engaged 
in,  and  had  that  object  in  my  mind  when  I  sent  in  my  resig 
nation,  although  circumstances  occurred  that  induced  me  to 
change  my  plans.  My  resignation  was  accepted  without  much 
hesitation  at  headquarters,  and  once  more,  after  three  weeks, 


ABOUND     RICHMOND. 


BRIGHT   DAYS.  153 

service  as  a  military  conductor,  I  was  free  to  follow  my  own 
inclinations. 

These  three  weeks  were  very  fruitful  in  experiences,  and  I 
learned  a  good  many  things  which  I  do  not  particularly  care  to 
set  down  in  black  and  white,  but  which  were  worth  knowing. 
Between  what  I  saw  and  heard,  both  in  the  East  and  the 
West,  I  was  beginning  to  understand  why  things  did  not 
move  briskly,  and  why,  in  spite  of  successes  in  the  field,  the 
Confederate  cause,  instead  of  making  headway,  was  losing 
ground  ;  and  I  was,  in  a  measure,  prepared  for  the  disasters 
which  shortly  after  began  to  follow  thick  and  fast.  But,  be 
fore  disasters  did  come,  there  were  some  bright  days,  which, 
in  my  memory,  seem  brighter  than,  perhaps,  they  really  were, 
from  the  contrast  between  them  and  the  dismal  times  by 
which  they  were  succeeded.  These  I  enjoyed  to  the  utmost, 
and  when  the  darkness  of  defeat  and  disaster  did  begin  to 
settle  down  upon  the  doomed  Confederacy,  I,  for  one,  bore  up 
with  undaunted  spirit  to  the  very  last  hour,  and  was  willing 
to  fight  the  thing  out  even  when  every  hope  of  success  had 
vanished.  But  these  are  matters  that  do  not  properly  come 
up  for  discussion  in  this  place ;  and  what  we  are  now  con 
cerned  with  are  the  pleasant  hours  of  genuine  fun  and  frolic  — 
the  last  I  saw  for  many  a  day  —  that  preceded  the  bursting 
of  the  storm-cloud  which  was  beginning  to  overshadow  the 
fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

A     MERRY-MAKING. 

In  Search  of  active  Employment.  —  On  the  Road  to  Bowling  Green,  Ken 
tucky.  —  My  travelling  Companions.  —  A  Halt  at  Paris.  —  A  Hog- 
killing  and  Corn-shucking  Frolic.  —  Dancing  all  Night  in  the  School- 
house.  —  A  Quilting-Party.  —  My  particular  Attentions  to  a  Lady.  — 
The  other  Girls  unhappy.  —  The  Reward  of  Gallantry.  —  What  General 
Hardee  had  to  say  to  me.  —  The  Woodsonville  Fight.  —  On  the  back 
Track  for  Fort  Donelson. 

T  would,  perhaps,  have  been  better  for  me,  in 
many  respects,  had  I  gone  back  to  Virginia  ;  for 
the  probabilities  were  that  I  would,  very  shortly, 
if  not  immediately,  have  obtained  the  gratifica 
tion  of  my  desire  for  active  employment  in  the 
.  secret  service  corps,  and  I  would,  consequently, 
not  only  have  put  in  my  time  to  much  better  advan 
tage  than  I  did,  both  for  myself  and  for  the  Confed 
eracy,  but  I  would  have  been  spared  a  number  of 
particularly  unpleasant  occurrences  which  were  fruitful 
of  nothing  but  abundance  of  disgust  on  my  part.  If 
everything  happened  to  us,  however,  just  as  we  desired  in  this 
world,  not  only  would  we  not  properly  appreciate  heaven,  when 
we  get  there, — if  we  ever  do, — but  adventure  would  lose  much 
of  its  zest.  So,  the  best  way,  after  all,  is,  perhaps,  to  take 
things  about  as  they  come,  and  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for 
the  main  chances,  do  what  we  can  with  them  to  advance  the 
ends  we  have  in  view. 

My  campaign  in  the  West,  before  I  trod  Virginia  ground 
again,  was  certainly  adventuresome  enough  to  satisfy  all  my 
cravings,  were  adventure  alone  what  I  wanted.  While,  how 
ever,  I  plunged  into  adventures  for  the  love  of  the  thing,  and 
cared  not  what  perils  presented  themselves  when  I  had  an 
object  to  attain,  I  was  neither  reckless  nor  foolhardy,  and 
wanted  to  have  something  definite  in  view  beyond  the  excite 
ment  of  the  hour. 

It  was  because  I  thought  that  there  would  be  a  chance  for 

154 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   RIVALRY.  155 

me,  ere  a  great  while,  in  Kentucky,  to  demonstrate  my  value 
either  as  a  soldier  or  as  a  spy,  —  for  some  heavy  fighting  was 
undoubtedly  about  to  begin,  —  that  I  determined  to  defer 
going  East  for  the  present,  thinking  that  Fortune  would  favor 
me  where  I  was.  So  I  remained,  and  began  to  look  about  for 
a  good  place  to  commence  operations  in  again.  As  there  was 
evidently  nothing  to  be  had  at  Columbus  that  I  wanted,  I  de 
cided  to  try  what  could  be  done  at  the  other  end  of  the  Con 
federate  line  of  operations,  —  at  Bowling  Green. 

STARTING  FOR  BOWLING  GREEN. 

For  Bowling  Green  I  accordingly  started,  my  travelling 
companions  being  Colonel  Bacon  and  Captain  Billingsley. 
They  were  both  genial,  pleasant  gentlemen,  —  gentlemen  in 
every  sense  of  the  word,  —  and  I  enjoyed  their  society  greatly 
during  the  journey. 

Soldiers  are  generally  fond  of  taking  a  hand  in  anything  in 
the  shape  of  a  frolic  that  is  going  on,  more  especially  as  a  uni 
form-coat  is  tolerably  sure  to  be  a  passport  to  the  favor  of  the 
ladies ;  consequently,  when  on  reaching  the  little  town  of 
Paris,  we  found  that  there  was  some  sport  in  progress  in  the 
shape  of  a  hog-killing  and  corn- shucking  festival,  we  con 
cluded  that  the  best  thing  we  could  do-  would  be  to  stop  and 
have  a  bit  of  fun.  Well,  it  was  genuine  fun,  of  a  downright 
hearty  kind,  and  all  three  of  us  enjoyed  ourselves  immensely, 
although,  I  am  afraid  that  the  captain  and  the  colonel  appre 
ciated  the  thing  more  than  I  did ;  for  they  were  both  great 
ladies'  men,  and  this  was  such  a  chance  as  did  not  present  it 
self  every  day  for  them  to  exert  their  powers  of  fascination 
upon  the  fair  sex.  I  considered  that  I  had  a  manly  reputation 
to  sustain,  too,  and  I  consequently  resolved  not  to  be  beaten 
by  them  in  the  matter  of  gallant  attentions  to  the  girls  of 
Paris.  My  previous  experience  in  winning  the  regards  of  my 
sex,  induced  me  to  believe  that  I  could,  with  comparative 
ease,  become  the  hero  of  the  occasion,  "in  spite  of  their  supe 
riority  of  official  rank  and  superior  dignity  of  manly  carriage. 
This  was  the  first  occasion  since  my  assumption  of  male  attire 
that  I  had  been  offered  a  fair  chance  to  attempt  a  bit  of  rivalry 
of  this  kind,  and  I  thought  that  it  would  be  a  first-rate  notion 
to  improve  the  occasion.  I  determined,  therefore,  on  an 
active  campaign  for  the  smiles  of  the  fair  one  with  the  cap 
tain  and  the  colonel. 


156  A  DANCING-PARTY. 


A  FAVORITE  WITH  THE  LADIES. 

The  welcome  which  was  extended  to  us  was  all  that  could 
be  desired  in  the  way  of  cordiality,  the  girls,  especially,  evi 
dently  being  delighted  to  have  three  dashing  officers  take  part 
with  them  in  the  frolic.  It  was  not  a  great  while,  therefore, 
before  each  of  us  had  a  young  lady  in  charge,  and  were  doing 
our  best  to  be  as  agreeable  as  possible.  I  had,  perhaps,  rather 
the  advantage  of  the  colonel  and  the  captain  at  the  start,  for  I 
figured  as  one  of  those  nice  little  fellows  who,  for  some  unac 
countable  reason,  seem  to  be  admired  by  many  women  in  a 
greater  degree  than  are  more  manly-looking  men ;  and  as  I 
exerted  myself  to  be  as  fascinating  as  possible,  my  two  com 
panions  were  speedily  thrown  in  the  shade,  and  I  found  my 
self  the  special  object  of  the  adoration  of  the  Parisian  damsels, 
very  much  to  my  amusement. 

The  colonel  and  the  captain,  however,  had  the  best  of  me  in 
the  long  run,  for,  as  I  was  only  playing  a  part,  I  was  not  able  to 
keep  up  the  competition  with  as  much  animation  as  they  did ; 
and  although  the  first  successes  were  mine,  I  was  tired  out, 
and  ready  to  retire  from  the  field  some  time  before  they 
showed  any  disposition  to  give  up.  I  think  that  both  of  my 
friends  perceived  that  I  was  trying  to  outshine  them  with  the 
Paris  girls  ;  but  as  they  did  not  understand  the  situation  as  I 
did,  they  were,  of  course,  unable  to  see  exactly  where  the 
laugh  came  in.  Could  they  have  but  known  who  I  really  was, 
they  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  intensely  amused,  and 
would  have  enjoyed  the  whole  performance  immensely. 

A  VILLAGE  BALL. 

The  serious  business  of  hog-killing  and  corn-shucking  was 
supplemented  by  a  feast,  at  which  the  viands  were  chiefly 
winter  apples  and  cider,  and  the  frolic  concluded  with  a  dance 
in  the  school-house,  which  lasted  until  morning.  My  two 
friends  and  myself  were  in  great  demand  as  partners,  and  we 
nearly  danced  the  breath  out  of  our  bodies  before  the  affair 
wound  up;  which  it  finally  did  about  daybreak,  very  much 
to  my  satisfaction,  for  I  was  nearly  used  up,  having  found 
waltzing  all  night  much  harder  and  more  exhausting  work 
than  campaigning.  The  affair,  however,  was  a  right  merry 
one,  and  I  enjoyed  myself  immensely. 

When  day  began  to  dawn,  we  took  our  girls  home,  and  then 


A    QUILTING- PARTY.  157 

sought  our  beds.  It  was  not  long  before  I  was  sound  asleep, 
and  so  worn  out  with  my  exertions  of  the  night,  that  I  did  not 
wake  up  until  nearly  supper- time. 

The  next  evening  we  went  to  a  quilting- party,  I  acting  as 
escort  to  an  old  maid  who  had  been  compelled  to  play  the  part 
of  a  wall-flower  nearly  all  the  night  before,  and  to  whom  I  de 
termined  to  pay  particular  attention,  just  for  the  sake  of  a 
joke,  and  to  annoy  the  younger  girls,  who  showed  a  marked 
disposition  to  monopolize  all  the  masculine  attentions  at  her 
expense.  It  was  very  funny  to  note  the  dismay  which  this 
choice  of  mine  caused  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  thought 
they  had  a  better  right  to  my  courtesies.  I  had  the  satisfac 
tion  of  seeing,  however,  that  my  politeness  was  keenly  appre 
ciated  by  the  recipient  of  it,  and  I  redoubled  my  exertions  to 
make  myself  agreeable  when  I  noticed  the  chagrin  my  con 
duct  was  exciting  among  the  rivals  of  my  lady. 

As  for  the  lady  herself,  she  had  evidently  not  received  so 
much  marked  attention  from  anybody  in  masculine  garb  for  a 
long  time,  and  she  plumed  herself  immensely  on  having  made 
a  conquest  of  the  dashing  little  lieutenant,  and  was,  doubtless, 
inspired  by  a  higher  appreciation  of  her  own  powers  of  fascina 
tion  than  she  had  ever  been  before.  Repeated  attempts  were 
made  to  win  me  away  from  her  side,  but  all  in  vain  ;  the  sport 
was  too  entertaining  for  me  to  give  it  up,  and  I  steadfastly  re 
sisted  all  the  allurements  of  the  rival  beauties,  with  not  a  little 
enjoyment  of  their  discomfiture. 

I   TAKE   THE   NEEDLE   IN   HAND. 

The  quilting-party  was  a  very  merry  and  very  noisy  one, 
although  the  fun  was  not  of  quite  so  uproarious  a  character  as 
that  of  the  previous  night.  I  offered  to  take  a  hand  at  the 
work  that  was  going  on,  making  a  great  boast  of  my  skill  with 
the  needle.  The  probabilities  are  that  I  could  have  manipu 
lated  that  little  feminine  instrument  quite  as  deftly  as  most  of 
those  present,  but  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  show  myself 
too  handy  with  it.  Taking  my  place  at  the  frame,  therefore, 
I  set  about  making  a  figure  with  something  of  masculine 
awkwardness,  and  succeeded  in  putting  in  quite  as  shocking 
a  bit  of  work  as  most  men  would  have  done  under  the  circum 
stances. 

While  I  was  doing  this,  the  girls  all  looked  on  with  great 
eagerness,  praising  my  work,  and  endeavoring  to  flatter  me 


158  THE   END    OF   THE   FROLJC. 

into  the  belief  that  I  was  doing  magnificently.  When  I  had 
completed  the  figure.  I  pretended  that  I  thought  it  much  too 
bad  to  remain,  and  offered  to  pick  it  out.  At  this,  there  was 
a  chorus  of  indignant  remonstrance  from  all  the  feminines 
present,  and  I  was,  consequently,  compelled  to  let  it  stand, 
the  young  ladies  very  prettily  professing  to  be  lost  in  admi 
ration,  and  my  old  maid,  in  particular,  smiling  on  my  humble 
effort  with  touching  sweetness. 

There  was  now  an  increased  effort  to  win  me  from  my  first 
love ;  but  with  a  firmness  that  would  have  done  me  infinite 
credit,  had  my  coat  and  trowsers  rightly  represented  my  sex, 
I  persisted  in  my  preference,  leaving  it  for  the  colonel  and  the 
captain  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  army  for  gallantry  with  the 
other  feminine  members  of  the  party. 

TOKENS  OF  ESTEEM. 

My  rather  excessive  politeness  to  the  lady  in  question  was 
not  without  its  ample  reward ;  for  when  the  time  for  leaving 
Paris  came,  she  gave  me  a  substantial  token  of  her  esteem  and 
of  her  keen  appreciation  of  my  attentions,  by  putting  me  up  a 
lunch,  consisting  of  a  fried  chicken,  biscuits,  apples,  and  two 
bottles  of  cider,  which,  if  she  is  still  living,  and  should  have 
the  pleasure  of  reading  this  narrative,  she  will  learn  were 
keenly  enjoyed  by  my  two  friends  and  myself  as  we  journeyed 
towards  Bowling  Green. 

v  So  ended  the  episode  of  the  Paris  frolic.  It  was  good  fun 
while  it  lasted,  and  it  becomes  a  particularly  bright  spot  in 
my  memory  in  contrast  with  the  dismal  and  harrowing  scenes 
by  which  it  was  so  soon  to  be  succeeded.  The  Paris  girls 
furnished  the  colonel,  the  captain,  and  myself  topics  of  con 
versation  during  a  good  part  of  the  balance  of  our  journey, 
and  my  companions  had  considerable  fun  at  my  expense,  on 
account  of  my  peculiar  manner  of  conducting  myself  towards 
the  ladies  of  that  village.  I  took  their  raillery  in  good  part, 
of  course,  smiling  to  myself  at  certain  amusing  incidents,  the 
full  significance  of  which  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
understand.  Soon,  however,  all  three  of  us  had  enough  of 
other  things  to  think  of  to  induce  us  to  dismiss  Paris,  and  the 
delights  of  hog-killing,  corn-shucking,  and  quilting-frolics  from 
our  minds,  and  to  bend  our  thoughts  to  the  consideration  of 
matters  of  more  serious  interest. 

On  arrival  at  General  Hardee's  headquarters,  I  wrent  to  him, 


THE   BATTLE    OF   WOODSONVILLE.  159 

and  showing  him  my  commission,  stated  that  I  wanted  to  go 
into  active  service  as  a  scout.  He  said  that  he  thought  there 
would  soon  be  a  chance  for  me ;  which  was  so  nearly  like  the 
answers  I  had  received  from  a  number  of  other  commanders, 
that  I  did  not  feel  especially  encouraged  by  it.  It  really 
meant  about  as  much  as  similar  remarks  made  by  others,  for 
nothing  came  of  it,  and  I  was  compelled  to  drift  about,  looking 
out  myself  for  something  to  do  to  kill  time  while  waiting  in 
hope  that  the  current  of  events  would  shape  themselves  in  a 
mariner  favorable  to  my  idea. 

At  this  period  of  the  war  I  could  have  been  employed  to 
very  great  advantage  as  a  spy,  to  go  to  and  fro  through  the 
lines ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  I  could,  with  comparative 
ease,  have  obtained  information  of  the  first  value  to  the  Con 
federate  commanders.  The  Federals,  as  we  all  knew,  were 
making  immense  preparations  for  an  important  forward  move 
ment  ;  and  had  I  been  employed  as  I  wanted  to  be,  I  could, 
most  likely,  have  succeeded  in  saving  the  Confederates  from 
waiting  for  defeat  to  teach  them  what  they  ought  to  have 
known  while  making  their  preparations  to  meet  the  enemy. 

Perhaps  if  General  Hardee,  and  others,  had  known  exactly 
who  and  what  I  was,  and  what  were  my  particular  talents  in 
the  line  of  duty  I  desired  to  follow,  they  would  have  shown  a 
greater  disposition  to  afford  me  opportunities  to  signalize  my 
self.  They  did  see,  however,  that  I  was  ready,  willing,  and, 
apparently,  able  to  work ;  and  I  scarcely  think  that  they  were 
blameless  in  not,  at  least,  giving  me  a  fair  trial. 

THE  FIGHT  AT  WOODSONVILLE. 

I  was  bent,  however,  notwithstanding  the  disappointment 
under  which  I  labored,  on  showing  my  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  Southern  independence ;  and,  in  accordance  with  my  gen 
eral  plan  of  not  letting  slip  an  opportunity  of  being  on  hand 
when  there  was  any  real,  serious  work  to  be  done,  I  took 
part  in  the  fight  at  Woodsonville,  on  Green  River,  and  faced 
the  enemy  as  valiantly  as  anybody.  In  this  fight,  Colonel 
Terry,  a  brave  Texan  officer,  whom  I  greatly  admired,  was 
among  the  slain. 

The  affair  at  Woodsonville  was  something  of  a  diversion 
from  the  monotony  of  camp  life,  but  it  did  not  satisfy  my  am 
bition  or  my  intense  desire  for  active  service ;  and  coming  to 
the  conclusion  that  lounging  about  Bowling  Green  and  vicinity 


160  HARD    FIGHTING. 

was  much  too  slim  a  business  for  me,  I  decided  to  shift  m^ 
quarters  to  where  there  was  a  somewhat  better  prospect  of 
hard  fighting  to  be  done.  It  was  by  this  time  evident  that 
the  Federals  intended  making  a  determined  attempt  to  cap 
ture  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  on  the  Tennessee  and  Cum 
berland  Rivers,  and  as  I  felt  confident  that  our  people  would 
make  a  brave  and  desperate  resistance,  I  resolved  to  go  and 
take  a  hand  in  the  approaching  battle,  in  the  hope  that  some 
thing  to  my  advantage  would  result  from  it.  If  a  desire  to 
witness  some  hard  fighting  was  my  chief  object  in  this  move 
ment,  it  was  more  than  gratified,  for  the  horrors  of  the  siege 
of  Donelson  far  surpassed  anything  I  had  yet  witnessed,  and 
by  the  time  it  was  over,  I  certainly  got  enough  of  the  excite 
ment  of  battle  to  satisfy  me  for  some  time  to  come.  Happily 
for  ourselves,  we  cannot  foresee  the  future,  and  in  blissful 
ignorance  of  the  agonizing  scenes  which  I  would  soon  be 
called  upon  to  witness,  I  started  for  Fort  Donelson  with  a 
comparatively  light  heart,  bent  only  on  so  demonstrating  my 
devotion  to  the  cause  as  would  compel  the  recognition  of  my 
superiors. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   FALL   OF   FORT  DONELSON. 

The  Spirit  of  Partisanship.  —  My  Opinions  with  Regard  to  the  Invincibility 
of  the  Southern  So.diers. —  Unprepared  to  sustain  the  Humiliation  of 
Defeat.  —  The  Beginning  of  the  End.  —  At  Fort  Donelson.  —  The 
Federal  Attack  expected.  —  Preparations  for  the  Defence..  —  The  Gar 
rison  confident  of  their  Ability  to  hold  the  Fort.  —  The  Difference  be 
tween  Summer  and  Winter  Campaigning.  —  Enthusiasm  supplanted  by 
Hope  and  Determination.  —  My  Boy  Bob  and  I  go  to  Work  in  the 
Trenches.  —  Too  much  of  a  good  Thing.  —  Dirt-Digging  not  exactly  in 
my  Line — The  Federals  make  their  Appearance.  —  The  Opening  of  the 
Battle.  —  On  picket  Duty  in  the  Trenches  at  Night.  —  Storm  of  Snow 
and  Sleet.  —  The  bitter  Cold. —  Cries  and  Groans  of  the  Wounded. — 
My  Clothing  stiff  with  Ice.  —  I  find  myself  giving  Way,  but  manage  to 
endure  until  the  Relief  comes.  —  Terrible  Suffering.  —  Singular  Ideas. 
—  A  four  Days'  Battle.  —  The  Confederate  Successes  on  the  first  and 
second  Days.  —  The  Gunboats  driven  off.  —  Desperate  Fighting  on 
the  third  Day.  —  A  breathing  Spell.  —  The  Confederates  finally  driven 
back  into  the  Fort. —  It  is  resolved  to  surrender.  —  Generals  Floyd  and 
Pillow  make  their  Escape. — General  Buckner  surrenders  to  General 
Grant.  —  Terrible  Scenes  after  the  Battle  is  over.  —  The  Ground 
strewn  for  Miles  with  Dead  and  Dying. —  Wounded  Men  crushed  by 
the  artillery  Wagons.  —  The  Houses  of  the  Town  of  Dover  filled  with 
Wounded.  —  My  Depression  of  Spirits  on  Account  of  the  terrible 
Scenes  I  had  witnessed. 

AM  a  partisan,  by  instinct  and  by  education. 
It  is  an  impossibility  for  me  to  limit  or  divide  my 
affections  and  predilections ;   and  in  choosing  a 
side    in    a    great   contest   like    that  which   was 
waged  between  the  South  and  the  North,  I  must 
do  so  with  my  whole  heart  and  soul.     Others, 
abler  than   myself,  may  have  done  more  to  promote 
the  cause  of  Southern  independence,  and  may  have 
labored  with  greater  efficiency;  but  no  man  or  wo 
man  in  the  whole  Confederacy  was  inspired  by  a  more 
ardent   devotion    to   the    cause    than   myself,   or    had 
greater  faith  in  its  ultimate  success,  no  matter  what  odds 
it  might   be    compelled    to    contend   against.     I   trusted   to 
iny  impulses,  perhaps,  more  than  to  my  reason;  but  every 
11  161 


162  PARTISANSHIP. 

strong  partisan  must  do  this,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and 
if  I  miscalculated,  or  was  ignorant  of  the  real  power  of  the 
North,  and  of  the  resources  which  the  Federal  government 
was  able  to  command,  I  had  plenty  of  companions  in  my 
error,  for  there  were  thousands  who  possessed  far  more  per 
fect  means  of  information  than  myself,  who  were  quite  as 
eager  to  enter  upon  a  war  without  calculating  the  cost  or  esti 
mating  the  consequences. 

The  fact  was,  however,  that  I  did  not  think  of  calculating 
with  regard  to  the  probable  result  of  the  contest.  I  had  the 
most  exalted  opinion  of  the  invincibility  of  our  Southern  sol 
diers,  and  of  the  skill  of  our  .generals,  and  I  was  unable  to 
think  of  them  otherwise  than  as  about  to  enter  upon  a  career 
of  victory. 

Up  to  the  time  of  which  I  am  now  writing,  nearly  every 
thing  had  contributed  to  the  encouragement  of  my  original 
notions.  In  both  of  the  great  battles  in  which  I  had  partici 
pated  the  Confederates  had  been  brilliantly  successful ;  and 
while  the  permanent  results  had  scarcely  been  equal  to  my 
hopes  and  expectations,  my  opinion  with  regard  to  Southern 
invincibility  had  scarcely  received  a  serious  check.  My  na 
ture  and  temperament  are  such,  that  just  as  when,  amid  the 
excitement  of  a  battle,  each  combatant  in  the  opposing  army 
becomes  for  the  moment  a  personal  enemy,  so  in  the  hour  of 
defeat  I  am  compelled  to  feel  a  humiliation  as  keen  as  if  it 
was  my  own  alone.  Such  a  humiliation  I  was  very  shortly  to 
endure ;  but,  in  hurrying  towards  Fort  Donelson,  I  little 
knew  that  I  was  about  to  become  the  spectator  of  a  defeat 
so  crushing  and  disastrous  as  for  a  time  to  annihilate  in 
my  bosom  all  hope,  and  which  gave  a  death-blow  to  the 
impetuous  but  untutored  enthusiasm  with  which  I  had 
started  out. 

I  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  victory,  and  had  felt  all  the  ex* 
ultation  which  fills  the  breast  of  the  soldier  after  a  hard- 
fought  battle  in  seeing  the  enemy  flee  before  him,  and  now  I 
was  called  upon  to  taste  the  bitterness  of  defeat,  and  of  de 
feat  attended  with  unspeakable  horrors.  The  capture  of  Fort 
Donelson  was  the  beginning  of  the  end,  although  I  hardly  so 
understood  it  at  the  time :  but  soon  it  was  followed  by  other 
disasters  scarcely  less  crushing,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  de 
spair,  rather  than  of  hope,  was  the  inspiration  not  only  of  my 
self,  but  of  the  whole  Southern  people  during  the  last  three 
years  of  the  contest. 


PLAN  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  FORT  DONELSON. 


164  AT  FORT  DONELSON, 

AN  ESTIMATE  OF  THE  POSITION. 

When  I  reached  Fort  Donelson,  General  Pillow  was  in  com 
mand,  and  preparations  for  meeting  the  enemy  were  being 
pushed  forward  with  all  possible  energy.  Fort  Henry,  on 
the  Tennessee  River,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Donelson, 
had  been  captured  by  the  Federals,  and  Donelson,  every  one 
knew,  would  be  the  next  object  of  attack,  both  by  land  and 
water.  The  fortifications  were  very  strong,  although,  being 
built  for  the  purpose  of  commanding  the  river,  they  were 
weaker  on  the  land  than  on  the  water  side,  and  the  great  duty 
of  the  hour  was  the  construction  of  earthworks  for  the  pro 
tection  of  the  exposed  side.  The  labor  required  for  the  ex 
ecution  of  this  task  was  immense,  but  every  one  went  at  it 
with  a  good  will,  and  with  a  feeling  of  confidence  in  our  abil 
ity  to  give  the  Federals  the  repulse  that  the  garrison  of  Fort 
Henry  had  failed  to  do,  although  we  were  certain  that  they 
were  about  to  assail  us  with  a  very  large  force,  and  that  they 
considered  the  capture  of  the  position  a  matter  of  such  vital 
importance  that  they  would  spare  no  effort  to  accomplish  it. 
While,  however,  thrre  was  the  greatest  belief  in  the  impreg 
nability  of  the  position,  and  in  the  ability  of  our  garrison, 
composed  of  Southern  soldiers  of  tried  courage  and  gallantry, 
to  hold  it,  even  against  heavy  odds,  all  felt  that  a  desperate 
and  bloody  conflict  was  about  to  begin,  and  nerved  themselves 
for  the  dreadful  task  before  them. 


THE  TEACHINGS  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

I  entered  upon  this  conflict  with  for  different  emotions  from 
those  which  animated  me  when  about  to  take  part  in  the  bat 
tle  of  Bull  Run.  Then  I  was  inspired  by  all  the  enthusiasm 
of  ignorance,  and  was,  perhaps,  animated  as  much  by  an  in 
tense  desire  to  see  what  a  great  battle'  was  like,  as  by  any 
other  feeling.  I  could  not  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  the  rout 
of  the  enemy  would  mean  their  annihilation,  and  the  trium 
phant  accomplishment  of  all  the  ends  for  which  we  had  taken 
up  arms.  I  might  have  known  better  than  this,  if  I  had 
thought;  but  I  did  not  think.  I  only  felt,  just  like  thou 
sands  of  others.  The  battle  of  Bull  Run,  too,  was  fought 
in  the  middle  of  summer,  in  beautiful,  clear,  July  weather ; 
and  although  fighting  the  enemy  through  that  long,  sultry 
day,  with  the  blazing  sun  overhead,  was  no  holiday  task, 


PECULIAR    FEELINGS.  165 

and  it  taxed  the  energies  of  officers  and  men  to  the 
utmost  to  achieve  the  defeat  of  the  enemy,  it  was  a 
very  different  thing  from  defending  a  series  of  earthworks 
from  a  combined  attack,  by  land  and  water,  in  the  dead 
of  winter. 

PREMONITIONS  OP  DEFEAT. 

I  had  seen  much  of  war  and  its  horrors  since  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  and  better  comprehended  now  what  serious  work 
it  was,  and  what  enormous  labor  would  have  to  be  performed, 
if  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  the  summer  were  to  be 
realized.  In  fact,  I  appreciated  the  situation  from  the  stand 
point  of  a  veteran,  rather  than  from  that  of  the  raw  recruit. 
Of  enthusiasm,  or,  at  least,  such  enthusiasm  as  that  by  which 
I  was  originally  inspired,  I  had  little  or  nothing ;  but  I  had 
hope  and  determination,  and  was  as  much  bent  upon  doing 
my  very  best  as  I  was  the  day  I  was  first  under  fire.  There 
was  something  most  depressing,  however,  in  the  idea  of 
figuring  in  a  desperate  conflict  in  midwinter.  The  whole 
proceeding  seemed  unseasonable,  and  this  peculiar  feeling, 
combined  with  a  singular  sense  of  discomfort  and  constraint 
at  being  shut  in  fortifications  from  which  there  was  next  to 
no  escape,  except  by  driving  off  the  enemy,  or  surrendering 
to  him,  had  a  powerful  effect  in  dampening  my  ardor. 

At  the  first  intimation  of  these  unpleasant  feelings  coming 
over  me,  however,  I  shook  them  off  with  all  the  resolution  I 
could  command,  and  determined  to  show  myself  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  garments  I  wore,  by  doing  a  full  man's  work, 
in  preparing  for  the  expected  attack.  There  was  a  great 
deal  that  had  to  be  done,  and  done  quickly,  in  the  way  of 
completing  the  intrenchinents,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
lend  a  hand,  as  1  felt  sure  that  volunteers  would  be  welcome 
when  hard  labor  like  this  was  to  be  performed,  even  if 
they  were  not  regarded  with  the  best  favor  by  those  in 
authority  at  other  times. 

AT  WORK  IN  THE  TRENCHES. 

My  boy  Bob  and  I,  therefore,  went  into  the  trenches,  and 
commenced  to  shovel  dirt  with  all  possible  energy  and  good 
will.  In  the  execution  of  such  a  task  as  this,  Bob  soon 
proved  himself  to  be  a  much  better  man  than  I  was,  and  he 
easily  threw  two  shovelfuls  to  my  one,  and  was  apparently  in 


166 

a  condition  to  keep  on  indefinitely;  when  I,  finding  that  I  had 
miscalculated  my  strength,  was  compelled  to  desist.  There 
are  some  things  which  men  can  do  better  than  women,  and 
digging  intrenchments  in  the  frozen  ground  is  one  of  them. 
I  was  not  a  very  great  while  in  discovering  this  most  impor 
tant  fact,  and  concluding  that  I  had  better  try  and  make  my 
self  useful  in  some  other  manner,  I  repaired,  with  aching 
back  and  blistered  hands,  to  the  headquarters  of  General 
Floyd,  who  had  just  arrived  with  his  Virginians,  where  I 
lounged  about,  waiting  for  events  so  to  shape  'themselves 
that  I  would  be  able  to  show  my  fighting  qualities  to  advan 
tage,  for  nature  had  evidently  intended  me  for  a  warrior 
rather  than  for  a  dirt-digger. 

COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  SIEGE. 

The  Federals  made  their  appearance  on  the  afternoon  of 
Wednesday  the  12th,  and  they  could  be  seen  at  various 
points  through  the  woods  making  preparations  for  com 
mencing  their  attack  by  stationing  themselves  in  advanta 
geous  positions  for  the  environment  of  the  fort  on  its  land 
side,  while  the  gunboats  were  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  their 
heavy  ordnance  from  the  river.  These  latter  we  felt  very 
sure  of  being  able  to  manage  with  comparative  ease,  as, 
indeed,  we  succeeded  in  doing ;  for  the  fort,  as  I  have  before 
stated,  was  constructed  chiefly  with  a  view  to  the  resistance 
of  an  attack  upon  this  side,  and  our  heaviest  guns  were 
mounted  so  as  to  command  the  river.  The  navy,  therefore, 
would  have  to  do  some  remarkably  efficient  service  if  it 
expected  to  make  any  marked  impression  on  us,  and  the  chief 
anxiety  of  our  officers  and  men  was  on  account  of  the  com 
parative  weakness  of  the  land  defences.  But  even  these, 
such  was  the  confidence  all  had  in  the  proverbial  Southern 
valor,  it  was  believed  we  would  be  able  to  hold  successfully. 

The  battle  opened  on  Thursday,  February  13,  1862,  and,  as 
if  to  increase  the  discomforts  and  sufferings  of  the  com 
batants,  the  weather,  which  had  been  quite  moderate  and 
pleasant,  suddenly  became  intensely  cold.  On  Thursday 
night,  about  eight  o'clock,  a  tremendous  storm  of  snow  and 
sleet  came  on,  to  the  full  fury  of  which  I  was  exposed ;  for  a 
young  officer,  who  wanted  to  take  French  leave  for  the  night, 
had  taken  advantage  of  my  eagerness  for  active  service,  and. 
made  an  arrangement  for  me  to  go  on  picket  duty  for  him  in 


A   NIGHT   IN   THE   TRENCHES.  167 

the  trenches.  I  was  less  fitted  to  stand  this  kind  of  exposure 
than  many  of  my  comrades,  for,  independently  of  my  sex,  I 
was  born  and  brought  up  in  a  semi-tropical  climate,  and 
although  inured  to  hardships  during  the  months  I  had  been 
figuring  as  a  soldier,  I  was  but  indifferently  qualified  to 
endure  the  sufferings  of  this  terrible  night. 

ON  PICKET  DUTY  AT  NIGHT. 

When  entering  upon  a  soldier's  career,  however,  I  was  ani 
mated  by  a  stern  resolve  not  to  shirk  any  duty  I  might  be 
called  on  to  undertake,  no  matter  how  arduous  or  uncongenial 
it  might  be ;  and  although  I  was,  on  this  occasion,  really  in 
truding  myself  where  I  did  not  belong,  my  pride  would  not 
have  permitted  me  to  back  down,  even  had  I  fully  apprecia 
ted,  before  starting  for  the  trenches,  what  I  would  have  to  go 
through  with  before  I  could  return  to  shelter  again.  As  for 
the  person  whose  duty  I  had  undertaken  to  perform,  he  un 
doubtedly  thought  himself  particularly  lucky  in  getting  rid  of 
such  an  ugly  job,  and  I  fancy  that  he  considered  me  a  fool  for 
the  eagerness  I  displayed  to  get  into  a  scrape  for  his  benefit. 
I  hope  he  managed  to  have  a  good  time  during  the  long  hours 
of  that  dreadful  night,  for  in  spite  of  what  I  suffered  I  bore 
him  no  hard  feelings. 

If  repentance  for  my  rashness  in  resolving  to  play  a  soldier's 
part  in  the  war  was  ever  to  overcome  me,  however,  now  was 
the  time ;  and  I  confess  that,  as  the  sleet  stung  my  face,  and 
the  biting  winds  cut  me  to  the  bones,  I  wished  myself  well 
out  of  it,  and  longed  for  the  siege  to  be  over  in  some  shape, 
even  if  relief  came  only  through  defeat.  The  idea  of  defeat, 
however,  was  too  intolerable  to  be  thought  of,  and  I  banished 
it  from  my  mind  whenever  it  occurred  to  me,  and  argued  with 
myself  that  I  was  no  better  than  the  thousands  of  brave  men 
around,  who  were  suffering  from  these  wintry  blasts  as 
much  as  I. 

A  NIGHT  OF  HORROR. 

The  agonized  cries  of  the  wounded,  and  their  piteous  calls 
for  water,  really  affected  me  more  than  my  own  discomfort  ; 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  heart-rending  sounds  that  greeted 
my  ear  every  moment,  I  could,  perhaps,  have  succeeded  better 
than  I  did  in  bearing  up  under  the  horrors  of  the  night  with 
some  degree  of  equanimity.  Every  now  and  then  a  shriek 


168  FANTASIES. 

would  be  uttered  that  would  strike  terror  to  my  soul,  and 
make  my  blood  run  cold,  as  the  fiercest  fighting  I  had  ever 
seen  had  not  been  able  to  do.  I  could  face  the  cannon  better 
than  I  could  this  bitter  weather,  and  I  could  suffer  myself 
better  than  I  could  bear  to  hear  the  cries  and  groans  of  these 
wounded  men,  lying  out  on  the  frozen  ground,  exposed  to  the 
beatings  of  this  pitiless  storm.  Several  times  I  felt  as  if  I 
could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  was  tempted  to  give  the  whole 
thing  up,  and  lie  down  upon  the  ground  and  die  ;  but,  although 
my  clothing  was  perfectly  stiff  with  ice,  and  I  ached  in  every 
limb  from  the  cold,  I  succeeded  in  rallying  myself  whenever 
I  found  these  fits  of  despondency  coming  over  me,  and  stood 
my  ground  to  the  last. 

I  understood,  from  this  brief  but  sufficient  experience, 
what  must  have  been  the  sufferings  of  the  army  of  Napoleon, 
on  the  retreat  from  Moscow  ;  and  the  story  of  that  retreat, 
which  had  hitherto  seemed  to  me  more  like  a  romance  than  a 
narrative  of  actual  occurrences,  was  now  presented  to  my 
mind  as  a  terrible  reality.  I  even  tried  to  find  some  consola 
tion  in  thinking  that,  after  all,  it  was  only  for  a  few  hours  that 
I  would  be  called  upon  to  endure,  while  the  soldiers  in  that 
most  disastrous  retreat  were  for  weeks  exposed  to  all  the 
severities  of  an  almost  Arctic  winter,  in  their  long  march  over 
desert  plains,  but  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  reflect 
ing  on  the  woes  of  others  is  but  an,  indifferent  alleviation  of 
our  own. 

FANTASTIC  IDEAS. 

In  such  a  situation  as  the  one  I  am  describing,  the  most 
singular  ideas  run  through  .one's  mind.  The  minutes  are 
lengthened  out  into  hours,  and  the  hours  into  days,  until  the 
reckoning  of  time  is  lost ;  and  as  the  past  seems  to  fade  away 
into  a  remoteness  that  makes  the  painlessness  of  yesterday 
appear  like  the  fragment  of  a  happy  dream,  so  the  future, 
when  it  will  all  be  over,  and  the  commonplace  routine  of  un 
eventful  every-day  life  will  commence  again,  is  as  far  off  as  a 
child's  imagination  pictures  heaven  to  be.  We  actually  catch 
ourselves  wondering  whether  it  has  always  been  so,  and 
whether  it  will  always  be  so  until  we  die,  and  when  we  die, 
whether  eternity  will  have  anything  better  to  offer.  Little 
incidents  in  our  past  lives,  of  no  possible  moment,  and  which 
had  perhaps  never  been  thought  of  from  the  date  of  their 
occurrence,  present  themselves  suddenly,  with  astonishing 


THE   ATTACK   BY  THE   GUNBOATS.  169 

vividness,  to  the  memory.  The  mental  and  the  physical  be 
ings  seem  to  be  engaged  in  a  contest  for  the  mastery,  and  as 
the  numbness  of  the  half-frozen  limbs  increases,  the  brain 
shapes  more  and  more  fantastic  ideas,  and  if  the  terrible  con 
test  is  too  long  protracted,  and  the  strain  upon  the  endurance 
is  not  removed,  fantasy  develops  into  madness,  and  madness 
swiftly  results  in  death. 

More  than  once  I  felt  myself  giving  way ;  more  than  once 
I  detected  my  mind  wandering  off  strangely  from  the  sur 
roundings  of  the  moment;  but,  by  a  resolute  effort  of  will,  and 
by  an  indomitable  determination  not  to  succumb,  I  succeeded 
in  sustaining  myself  until  my  relief  came,  and  I  was  able  to 
seek  shelter  and  the  repose  I  so  sorely  needed. 

THE  PROGRESS  OP  THE  BATTLE. 

The  battle  lasted  four  days  and  nights,  and,  although  the 
Confederates  fought  with  desperate  valor,  they  were  at  length 
compelled  to  yield,  and  the  humiliation  of  defeat  was  added 
to  the  unspeakable  sufferings  which  the  conduct  of  a  fierce 
and  prolonged  contest  like  this,  in  the  middle  of  a  winter  of 
unparalleled  severity,  entailed  upon  them.  Fortune,  which 
had  favored  the  side  of  the  Confederacy  in  the  battles  in 
which  I  had  heretofore  been  engaged,  was  against  us  now, 
however,  and  in  spite  of  the  fierce  resistance  which  the  gar 
rison  made  to  the  Federal  attacks,  the  result  was,  that  nothing 
was  left  for  us  to  do  but  surrender. 

The  results  of  the  first  day's  fighting  were  favorable  to  us, 
the  Federals  being  repulsed  at  all  points,  and  we  all  felt  tol 
erably  sure  that  we  would  be  able  either  to  drive  them  off,  or 
to  cut  our  way  through  their  lines. 

THE  GUNBOATS  BROUGHT  INTO  ACTION. 

On  Friday,  the  forces  on  the  land  side,  evidently  discour 
aged  by  their  ill  luck  of  the  day  before,  did  not  attempt  any 
very  serious  demonstrations.  It  was  now  the  turn  of  the 
gunboats  to  try  what  they  could  do  towards  driving  us  out 
of  the  fort.  The  navy,  however,  did  not  have  any  better 
success  than  the  army.  In  the  afternoon  the  boats  advanced 
up  the  river,  and  commenced  to  shell  our  works,  but  they 
inflicted  on  us  no  particular  damage,  while  our  fire  told  on 
them  with  terrible  eifect.  The  contest  between  the  batteries 


170  THE   HOUR   OF   DEFEAT. 

and  the  gunboats  continued  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them 
drift  down  the  river,  evidently  very  badly  cut  up.  So  the 
end  of  the  second  day's  battle  was  in  favor  of  the  Confed 
erates. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  besieging  army  was  re 
ceiving  large  re-enforcements,  and  was  apparently  preparing 
to  renew  the  attack  on  the  land  side  with  increased  vigor. 

THE  CONFEDERATE  SORTIE. 

With  characteristic  energy,  the  Confederate  commanders 
resolved  not  to  wait  to  be  attacked,  but  to  sally  from  the  fort, 
and  strike  the  enemy  a  deadly  blow.  The  sortie  was  gal 
lantly  made,  and  our  soldiers  fell  upon  their  antagonists  with 
a  fury  that  made  them  recoil.  The  contest  was  conducted 
with  terrible  vigor  on  both  sides  for  some  hours,  and  our 
men  succeeded  in  driving  back  the  Federals,  with  great  loss. 
They,  however,  were  unable  to  follow  up  their  advantage,  and 
there  came  a  lull  in  the  storm  of  battle,  during  which  both 
armies  seemed  to  be  taking  breath,  preparatory  to  renewing 
the  fight  with  greater  ferocity  than  ever. 

At  length  the  Federals  rallied,  and  stormed  the  intrench- 
ments  with  a  much  larger  force  than  before,  arid,  after  a 
severe  struggle,  the  Confederates  were  driven  back  into  the 
fort,  leaving  hundreds  of  the  dead  and  wounded  lying  on  the 
frozen  ground.  By  this  time  our  ranks  had  been  so  thinned 
out,  that  every  one  felt  it  would  be  madness  to  continue  the 
contest  longer  against  the  greatly  superior  force  of  the 
enemy.  We  had  fought,  and  fought  gallantly,  doing  all  that 
soldiers  could  do  to  maintain  ourselves ;  but,  in  spite  of  the 
desperate  valor  that  the  garrison  had  displayed,  defeat  stared 
us  in  the  face,  and  it  .would  have  been  useless  bloodshed  to 
have  attempted  a  prolongation  of  the  battle.  The  Federals, 
for  .this  once,  at  least,  were  masters  of  the  field,  and  all  we 
cared  longer  to  do  was  to  get  as  many  of  our  men  as  possible 
away  before  the  surrender  took  place,  and  to  retrieve  the  dis 
aster  by  meeting  the  enemy  under  more  auspicious  circum 
stances  another  time. 

DEPARTURE  OF  FLOYD  AND  PILLOW. 

I  felt  the  most  profound  pity  for  General  Floyd,  when  he 
found  that  further  resistance  was  useless,  and  that  the  fort 


HOEBORS    OF   THE   BATTLE-FIELD.  171 

must  be  given  up  to  the  enemy.  He  actually  shed  tears,  and 
both  he  and  General  Pillow  seemed  borne  down  by  the  keen 
est  humiliation,  when,  after  turning  over  the  command  to  Gen 
eral  Buckner,  they  embarked  their  men  hurriedly  on  the  boats 
at  night,  and  effected  their  escape.  Every  one  knew  that 
they  could  do  no  good  by  remaining,  and  that,  by  so  doing, 
they  would  only  give  so  many  more  prisoners  to  the  exultant 
victors ;  but  many  of  those  who  were  left  behind  seemed  to 
consider  their  departure  as  cowardly,  and  as  an  attempt  to 
shirk  danger,  and  greeted  them  with  hisses  and  groans  as 
they  embarked.  I  was  indignant  at  this,  for  I  knew  that  they 
had  done  all  that  could  have  been  expected  of  them,  and  that 
for  them  to  participate  in  the  surrender  would  only  increase 
the  extent  of  the  disaster,  and  add  to  the  importance  of  the 
Federal  victory. 

This  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  terrible  battles  of 
the  whole  war,  the  fact  of  its  having  been  fought  in  the  midst 
of  an  unusually  severe  winter  serving  to  increase  its  horrors 
tenfold.  Towards  the  last,  the  contest  between  the  besiegers 
and  besieged  was  hand  to  hand,  both  sides  contending  for  the 
mastery  with  a  ferocity  which  I  cannot  pretend  to  command 
words  to  describe.  Again  and  again  were  the  Federals  re 
pulsed  from  the  works,  and,  at  some  points,  they  were  so 
much  cut  up  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  them  to  rally  again. 
Re-enforcements  of  fresh  troops,  however,  came  continually  to 
the  relief  of  the  defeated  assailants,  while  each  hour  thinned 
out  the  garrison  terribly.  After  every  repulse,  the  enemy 
advanced  to  the  attack  with  increased  force,  or  made  a  furious 
assault  in  a  new  place,  and  by  the  time  General  Buckner 
surrendered  the  fort  to  General  Grant,  the  vicinity  of  the 
earthworks,  for  miles  around,  presented  a  sickening  spectacle 
of  devastation  and  human  suffering. 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE. 

In  every  direction  the  ground  was  trampled  by  thousands 
of  feet,  was  cut  up  by  the  artillery  carriages,  and  was  strewn 
with  dead  horses  and  men,  and  with  all  kinds  of  munitions  of 
war.  In  many  of  the  trenches,  especially  where  the  fiercest 
fighting  had  taken  place,  the  bodies  were  heaped  together,  six 
or  seven  feet  high,  and  the  faces  of  the  corpses,  distorted 
with  the  agonies  of  their  death  struggles,  were  hideous  to 
look  at.  Those  who  fell,  and  died  where  they  were  shot,  were 


172  DEPRESSION   OP   SPIRITS. 

comparatively  fortunate,  for  their  sufferings  were  soon  ended. 
It  was  sickening,  however,  to  think  of  the  many  poor  fellows 
who,  after  fighting  bravely,  and  falling  helpless  from  their 
wounds,  had  their  lives  crushed  out,  and  their  forms  mangled 
beyond  recognition,  by  the  furiously  driven  artillery. 

All  the  houses  in  the  town  of  Dover  were  filled  with  the 
wounded,  and  the  air  was  fairly  alive  with  the  groans.  Dr. 
Moore,  and  other  surgeons,  did  their  best  to  alleviate  the  suf 
ferings  of  the  victims  of  cruel  war ;  but  the  best  they  could 
do  was  but  little.  Some  of  the  men,  with  their  limbs  fearfully 
mangled,  pleaded  most  piteously  not  to  have  them  amputated, 
many  of  them  stating  that  they  preferred  death  to  this  new 
torture.  Others  could  do  no  more  than  groan,  or  utter  such 
cries  as  "  God  help  me  *,  "  while  not  a  few  besought  the  sur- 

Esons  to  kill  them,  and  end  their  misery.     It  was  no  wonder 
r.  Moore  said  that  it  was  no  place  for  women,  and  that  it 
was  as  much  as  the  strong  nerves  of  a  man  could  do  to  bear 
up  under  such  an  accumulation  of  horrors. 

More  accustomed  to  such  scenes  than  most  women,  and 
better  able  to  face  the  terrible  sights  by  which  I  was  sur 
rounded,  I  endeavored,  notwithstanding  I  was  worn  out, 
bodily  and  mentally,  and  was  overwhelmed  in  spirit  by  the 
fearful  disaster  which  had  overtaken  the  Confederate  arms,  to 
aid,  as  much  as  lay  in  my  power,  to  make  the  wounded  men 
as  comfortable  as  possible,  until  I  saw  that,  if  I  intended  to 
escape,  I  must  do  so  at  once. 

Although  the  horrors  of  a  great  battle  like  this  affected  me 
greatly  at  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  still  the  excitement 
enabled  me  to  bear  up.  and  it  was  not  until  after  a  battle  was 
over,  and  I  was  compelled  to  reflect,  that  I  fully  realized  what 
a  fearful  thing  this  human  slaughtering  was.  Immediately 
after  the  defeat  at  Fort  Donelson,  especially,  I  was  greatly 
depressed  in  spirit,  and  it  was  long  before  I  could  shake  off 
the  disposition  to  shudder,  and  the  feeling  of  intense  melan 
choly,  that  overcame  me  to  such  an  extent,  that  I  almost  re 
solved  to  give  up  the  whole  business,  and  to  never  allow  my 
self  to  be  put  in  the  way  of  witnessing  anything  of  the  kind 
again. 

In  course  of  time,  however,  this  feeling  wore  off,  and  as, 
with  restored  health,  —  for  I  was  quite  sick  from  the  expo 
sures,  fatigues,  and  horrors  of  the  battle,  —  my  spirits  regained 
their  elasticity,  rny  restless  disposition  would  not  let  me  re 
main  inactive  while  so  many  exciting  scenes  were  being 


EFFECTS  OF  BEST  AND  REPOSE.  173 

enacted  around  me,  and  while  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy 
was  trembling  in  the  balance.  If  I  did  not  forget  the  hor 
rors  of  Fort  Donelson,  they  erelong  ceased  to  oppress  me, 
and  I  was  as  ready  as  ever  to  do  my  share  of  any  fighting 
that  was  going  on.  It  was  never  my  disposition  to  brood 
over  misfortunes,  and,  although  this  one  affected  me  deeply 
for  a  season,  I  succeeded  in  overcoming  its  effects,  and,  after 
a  little  rest  and  recuperation,  was  ready  to  resume  my  life  of 
adventure  as  a  soldier  of  fortune. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DETECTION   AND  ARREST  IN   NEW  ORLEANS. 

Taking  a  Rest  at  Nashville.  —  Again  on  the  March.  —  I  join  General  A. 
S.  Johnston's  Army.  —  Wounded  in  a  Skirmish.  —  Am  afraid  of  having 
my  Sex  discovered,  and  leave  suddenly  for  New  Orleans.  —  In  New 
Orleans  I  am  suspected  of  being  a  Spy,  and  am  arrested.  —  The  Of 
ficer  who  makes  the  Arrest  in  Doubt.  —  The  Provost  Marshal  orders  my 
Release.  —  I  am  again  arrested  by  the  Civil  Authorities  on  Suspicion 
of  being  a  Woman.  —  No  Way  out  of  the  Scrape  but  to  reveal  my  Iden 
tity.  —  Private  Interview  with  Mayor  Monroe.  —  The  Major  fines  and 
imprisons  me.  —  I  enlist  as  a  private  Soldier.  —  On  arriving  at  Fort 
Pillow,  obtain  a  Transfer  to  the  Army  of  East  Tennessee. 

ROM  Fort  Donelson  I  went,  with  what  speed  I 
could,  to  Nashville,  and  took  rooms  at  the  St. 
Cloud  Hotel.  I  was  utterly  used  up  from  fa 
tigue,  exposure,  anxiety,  and  bitter  disap 
pointment  ;  and  both  I  and  my  negro  boy  Bob 
—  who  had  been  taken  quite  sick  during  the 
battle — needed  an  opportunity  to  thoroughly  rest 
ourselves.  It  was  an  immense  relief  to  reach  a  good 
hotel,  where  I  could  have  a  shelter  over  my  head,  a 
comfortable  bed,  and  wholesome  food ;  but  such  was 
the  restlessness  of  my  disposition,  and  the  agitation  of  my 
mind,  on  account  of  the  terrible  scenes  through  which  I  had 
just  passed,  that  T  could  not  keep  quiet ;  and  scarcely  had  I 
recovered  a  little  from  my  fatigue,  than  I  was  eager  to  be  in 
motion  again. 

THE  EXCITEMENT  IN  NASHVILLE. 

Nashville  was  in  an  intense  state  of  excitement  over  the 
unexpected  result  of  the  attack  upon  Fort  Donelson ;  and,  stim 
ulated,  perhaps,  as  much  by  the  turmoil  around  me,  and  by  the 
apprehensions  that  were  felt  by  every  one,  lest  the  Federals 
should  follow  up  their  success  by  marching  on  the  city,  my  old 
eagerness  to  be  an  active  participant  in  the  contest  which  was 
being  waged,  returned  with  all  its  former  force,  and  I  was 

174 


WOUNDED   IN   A   SKIRMISH.  175 

soon  as  anxious  as  ever  to  do  a  soldier's  full  duty.  If  the 
Federals  were  to  be  effectively  resisted,  and  the  defeat  of  Don- 
elson  retrieved,  there  was  but  one  course  for  the  friends  of 
the  Confederacy,  whether  soldiers  or  citizens,  to  pursue,  and 
strenuous  exertion  was  the  duty  which  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  enforced  upon  every  one.  I  felt  that  this  was  not 
the  time  for  me  to  shirk  the  responsibilities  I  had  voluntarily 
assumed,  for  if  ever  my  services  were  needed,  they  were 
needed  now.  After  a  very  brief  repose  at  the  St.  Cloud, 
therefore,  I  was  ready  to  brave  the  hardships  and  dangers  of 
the  battle-field  again. 

Sending  my  negro  boy  to  Grand  Junction  in  charge  of  a 
friend,  I  went  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Albert  Sydney 
Johnston,  and  upon  asking  for  employment,  was  put  in  the  de 
tective  corps.  There  was  plenty  of  work  for  everybody  to 
do,  for  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson  had  rendered  it  necessary 
that  the  whole  Southern  army  should  fall  back  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  up  a  new  line,  and  I  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  a 
lack  of  activity,  although  the  activity  of  a  retreat  was  not 
exactly  what  I  most  admired.  I  was  not  very  long  in  getting 
my  fighting  blood  up  again ;  but,  unfortunately,  my  com 
bative  propensities,  this  time,  had  a  somewhat  serious  result, 
which  compelled  me  to  abandon  the  line  of  duty  I  had  chosen, 
and  to  disappear  from  the  sight  of  my  new  associates. 

WOUNDED. 

While  participating  in  a  skirmish  with  the  enemy,  who  were 
harassing  us  whenever  an  opportunity  offered,  I  was  wounded 
in  the  foot.  This  lamed  me,  and  compelled  me  to  have  the 
hurt  dressed  by  the  surgeon,  at  which  I  was  not  a  little 
alarmed,  for  I  knew  that  I  was  now  in  imminent  danger  of 
having  my  sex  discovered.  The  wound  was  not  a  very  severe 
one,  and  I  probably  magnified  its  importance  ;  but  the  circum 
stances  were  such  that  it  could  scarcely  have  a  fair  chance  to 
heal  speedily  if  I  remained  in  the  field,  and  dreading  the 
prospect  of  being  for  a  long  period  under  the  care  of  the 
surgeon,  who  would  be  much  more  likely  to  suspect  me  than 
any  one  else,  I  resolved  that  the  only  course  for  me  to  pursue 
was  to  abandon  the  army  before  I  got  into  trouble. 

I  therefore  availed  myself  of  the  earliest  possible  oppor 
tunity  to  take  French  leave,  and  quietly  slipped  away  to  Grand 
Junction,  where  I  remained  for  three  days,  and  then,  in  com- 


17G  AN   UNEASY   FEELING   IN   NEW   ORLEANS. 

pany  with  ray  boy  Bob,  repaired  to  Jackson,  Mississippi.  At 
Jackson  I  hired  Bob  out,  as  I  wanted  to  get  rid  of  him  for  a 
while,  having  in  my  mind  certain  plans,  in  the  execution  of 
which  it  would  have  been  an  incumbrance  for  him  to  have 
been  with  me.  Bob  being  disposed  of  in  a  satisfactory  man 
ner,  I  hastened,  without  further  delay,  to  New  Orleans,  and 
took  up  my  quarters  at  the  Brooks  House. 

By  abandoning  the  army,  however,  and  going  to  New  Or 
leans  at  this  particular  juncture,  I  was,  to  use  a  homely 
phrase,  jumping  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  Rigid  as 
was  army  discipline,  and  strict  as  were  the  precautions  taken 
to  prevent  treachery  and  the  surveillance  of  spies,  I  had 
managed  to  sustain  myself  in  the  army  as  an  independent 
without  difficulty,  and  was  on  the  best  possible  terms  with 
everybody.  In  New  Orleans,  on  the  other  hand,  I  found  the 
spirit  of  suspicion  rampant.  Confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
city  to  defend  itself  against  the  impending  Federal  attack 
was  expressed  on  all  sides,  but  the  fact  that  an  attempt  was 
undoubtedly  to  be  made,  before  a  great  while,  for  its  reduc 
tion,  and  the  uncertainty  with  regard  to  the  exact  nature  of 
the  blow,  or  the  exact  direction  from  which  it  would  fall, 
caused  an  uneasiness  that  could  not  be  disguised.  The  Fed 
erals  were  known  to  be  mustering  an  enormous  fleet  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  and  a  large  army  on  the  Sound,  and  my 
surmises  of  months  before,  based  upon  what  I  had  heard  in 
Washington,  were,  apparently,  about  to  be  realized. 

NEW  ORLEANS  APPREHENSIVE  OF  AN  ATTACK. 

While  the  city  was  in  this  condition  of  suspense,  each  man 
looked  more  or  less  askance  at  his  neighbor,  and  the  fear  of 
Federal  spies  was  a  feeling  that  preponderated  over  all  others 
in  the  hearts  of  many.  People  who,  in  war  time,  don't  do  any 
fighting,  are,  according  to  my  experience,  asxbellicose  in  their 
language  as  they  are  cowardly  in  the  face  of  real  danger, 
making  up  in  suspiciousness  and  vindictiveness  what  they 
lack  in  valor.  It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  I 
speedily  got  myself  into  serious  trouble,  to  escape  the  conse 
quences  of  which  I  was  compelled  to  resort  to  some  desperate 
shifts. 

I  did  not  at  all  appreciate  the  situation  when  I  went  to  New 
Orleans.  When  I  entered  Washington  it  was  as  a  spy,  and  I 
consequently  had  all  my  wits  about  me  ;  but  in  New  Orleans 


ARRESTED.  177 

I  thought   I  was  among  my  friends,  and  very  imprudently 
neglected  ordinary  precautions  for-avoiding  difficulties. 

During  the  eight  or  nine  months  I  had  been  wearing  male 
attire,  I  had,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  seen  a  great  deal  of  very 
hard  service.  My  clothing  was  well  worn,  and  my  apparatus 
for  disguising  my  form  was  badly  out  of  order ;  and  the  result 
was,  that  I  scarcely  presented  as  creditable  a  manly  appear 
ance  as  I  did  upon  the  occasion  of  my  last  visit  to  New 
Orleans.  I  had,  too,  by  this  time  become  so  much  accus 
tomed  to  male  attire  that  I  ceased  to  bear  in  my  mind, 
constantly,  the  absolute  necessity  for  preserving  certain  ap 
pearances,  and  had  grown  careless  about  a  number  of  little 
matters  that,  when  attended  to  properly,  aided  materially  in 
maintaining  my  incognito.  In  addition  to  all  this,  I  was  in 
very  low  spirits,  if  not  absolutely  sick,  when  I  reached  New 
Orleans,  and  was  not  in  a  mood  to  play  my  part  in  the  best 
manner. 

MY  ARREST  AS  A  SPY. 

I  had  not  been  in  the  city  very  long  before  it  was  noted  by 
prying  people  that  there  was  some  mystery  about  me,  and  for 
any  one  to  have  a  mystery  just  then,  was  equivalent  to  falling 
under  the  ban  of  both  military  and  civic  authorities.  I,  of 
course,  imagining  no  evil,  was  not  prepared  for  a  demonstra 
tion  against  me,  and  was  accordingly  thunderstruck  when  I 
was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  being  a  spy,  and  taken  before 
the  provost  marshal. 

Terror,  dismay,  and  indignation  struggled  for  mastery  with 
me  when  this  outrage,  as  1  considered  it,  was  perpetrated. 
My  great  secret,  I  feared,  was  now^pn  the  point  of  being  dis 
covered  ;  and  if  it  was  discovered,  the  probabilities  were  that 
I  would  be  unable  any  longer  to  continue  the  career  I  had 
marked  out  for  myself.  I  was  enraged  at  the  idea  of  being 
charged  with  acting  as  a  spy,  and  of  having  my  patriotism 
doubted  after  all  I  had  done  to  promote  the  cause  of  Southern 
independence  ;  and  at  the  same  time  I  appreciated  the  diffi 
culties  and  dangers  of  the  situation,  and  puzzled  my  brain  to 
devise  a  plan  for  getting  myself  out  of  a  very  ugly  scrape. 
Reviewing  the  matter  very  rapidly  in  my  own  mind,  I  deter 
mined  that  the  best,  if  not  the  only  plan,  was  to  present  a- 
bold  front,  and  to  challenge  my  accusers  to  prove  anything 
against  me,  reserving  a  revelation  of  my  identity  as  a  last 
alternative. 

12 


178  IN   A   PREDICAMENT. 

I  entered  a  vigorous  protest  against  the  whole  proceeding 
to  the  officer  who  made  the  arrest,  and  I  could  see,  from  his 
hesitating  and  indecisive  manner,  that  he  was  in  possession  of 
no  definite  charge  against  me,  and  was  inclined  to  be  dubious 
about  the  propriety  or  legality  of  his  action.  This  encour 
aged  me,  and  induced  me  to  believe  that  I  might  be  able  to 
brave  the  thing  through ;  but  I  resolved,  if  I  did  get  clear,  to 
cut  my  visit  to  New  Orleans  as  short  as  possible.  My  protest, 
however,  was  of  no  avail,  so  far  as  procuring  an  instantaneous 
release  was  concerned,  for  the  officer  insisted  upon  my  accom 
panying  him  to  the  office  of  the  provost  marshal. 

A  DELICATE  SITUATION. 

While  on  my  way  to  the  provost  marshal's,  my  conductor 
questioned  me  closely,  but  I  gave  him  such  answers  as  evi 
dently  increased  his  uneasy  feelings,  and  I  soon  saw  that  he 
was  beginning  to  seriously  doubt  whether  he  was  doing  ex 
actly  the  correct  thing  in  making  the  arrest.  Finally,  he 
proposed  to  release  me  ;  but  to  this  I  objected  in  very  decided 
terms,  and  insisted  on  knowing  exactly  what  accusations  there 
were  against  me. 

To  the  office  of  the  provost  marshal  we  accordingly  went, 
and,  after  a  very  few  questions,  that  official  decided,  with 
gratifying  promptness,  that  there  was  no  justification  for 
holding  me,  and  ordered  my  discharge  from  custody. 

This  appeared  to  astonish  the  individual  who  had  made  the 
arrest  very  much,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  was  repenting 
of  his  rashness,  and  was  anxious  to  get  out  of  an  unpleasant 
predicament  the  best  way  he  could. 

I  enjoyed  his  discomfiture  immensely,  and,  turning  to  him 
with  all  the  dignity  I  could  command,  I  demanded  his  name. 
This,  with  very  evident  reluctance,  he  at  length  gave  me,  and 
making  him  a  stiff  bow,  I  said,  in  a  quiet  but  threatening  man 
ner,  "  I  will  see  you  again  about  this  matter,  sir,"  as  I  walked 
out  of  the  office. 

MY  SEX  SUSPECTED. 

In  spite  of  my  bravado,  however,  this  incident  gave  me  a 
great  deal  of  uneasiness,  for  I  saw  that  I  was  in  a  dangerous 
predicament,  and  was  liable  at  any  moment  to  get  into  further 
trouble.  I  was  not  much  surprised,  therefore,  although  greatly 
disgusted,  when  the  next  evening  I  was  again  arrested,  this 


IMPRISONMENT.  179 

time  on  susjficion  of  being  a  woman.  Now  what  I  had  so  long 
dreaded  was  come  to  pass,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but 
to  get  out  of  the  difficulties  which  environed  me  the  best  way 
I  could. 

Being  taken  before  Mayor  Monroe,  I  was  interrogated  by 
that  individual  in  a  style  that  I  did  not  at  all  admire.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  he  was  assuming  a  certain  lordliness  of  manner 
that  did  not  sit  gracefully  upon  him,  and  that  was  entirely 
uncalled  for  by  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion. 

My  replies  to  the  queries  of  the  mayor  were  not  satisfactory 
to  him,  for  his  very  imperious  and  pompous  bearing  made  me 
angry,  and  rather  put  me  on  my  mettle.  He  consequently 
chose  to  assume  that  I  was  a  woman,  and  ordered  me  to  change 
my  apparel. 

I,  however,  was  resolved  not  to  give  up  without  a  severe 
contest,  having  made  up  my  mind,  on  assuming  male  attire, 
not  to  acknowledge  my  sex  except  in  the  last  extremity, 
and  for  the  sake  of  securing  ends  that  could  not  otherwise  be 
accomplished.  So,  turning  to  Mr.  Monroe,  I  said,  with  a  dig 
nified  severity  quite  equal  to  his  own,  "  Sir,  prove  that  I  am  a 
woman  ;  it  will  be  quite  time,  when  you  do  that,  for  you  .to 
give  me  an  order  to  change  my  dress. " 

THE  MAYOR  PUZZLED. 

This  rather  disconcerted  the  mayor  and  his  satellites ;  and, 
watching  their  countenances  closely,  I  saw  that  they  were 
nonplussed,  and  were  doubtful  how  to  proceed,  being  uncer 
tain  whether  or  not  they  had  made  a  mistake.  My  hopes  of  a 
prompt  discharge,  however,  were  doomed  to  disappointment, 
for  the  mayor,  after  a  brief  consultation,  decided  to  remand 
me  to  the  calaboose,  until  it  should  be  settled  to  his  satisfac 
tion  who  I  was,  and  whether  I  was  a  man  or  a  woman.  To 
the  calaboose  I  accordingly  went,  horrified  at  being  subjected 
to  such  an  indignity,  and  with  anything  but  pleasant  or  friendly 
feelings  towards  the  mayor,  and  the  meddlesome,  prying  busy- 
bodies  who  had  been  instrumental  in  getting  me  into  this 
trouble. 

The  circumstances  of  the  case  having,  in  the  mean  time, 
become  generally  known,  I  was  visited  the  next  morning  by  a 
local  reporter,  who  showed  a  very  eager  desire  to  find  out  all 
he  could  about  me,  for  the  purpose  of  writing  a  sensational 
article  for  the  paper  with  which  he  was  connected.  As  may 


180  MAYOR  MONROE'S  SEVERITY. 

be  imagined,  this  sort  of  thing  did  not  increase  my  amiability, 
or  tend  to  make  me  bear  my  misfortunes  in  a  philosophical 
spirit.  I  gave  Mr.  Reporter  very  little  satisfaction,  shaping 
my  conversation  with  him  with  a  view  of  inducing  him  to 
believe  that  a  great  mistake  had  been  committed,  and  that  I 
was  the  victim  of  a  very  unjust  persecution. 

The  reporter  was  troublesome,  but  I  was  not  alarmed  at 
him,  as  I  was  at  my  next  visitor,  Dr.  Root,  of  the  Charity  Hos 
pital.  This  gentleman?  I  knew,  would  be  much  more  difficult 
to  deal  with ;  and  before  he  got  through  with  questioning  me, 
I  was  convinced,  from  his  manner,  that  his  mind  was  made  up 
with  regard  to  me.  I  felt  sure  that  the  easiest  and  best 
method,  indeed,  the  only  method  I  could  safely  adopt,  was 
to  confess  frankly  to  the  mayor  that  I  was  really  a  woman, 
trusting  that  this  fact  being  settled  in  a  manner  satisfying 
to  his  magisterial  dignity,  he  would  have  no  further  pretext 
for  keeping  me  in  confinement,  and  would  order  my  release. 

I  therefore  wrote  a  note  to  his  honor,  requesting  a  private 
interview.  This  request  he  granted,  and  without  any  more 
equivocation  I  told  him  who  I  was,  and  gave  him  what  I  hoped 
would  be  satisfactory  reasons  for  assuming  the  garb  I  wore. 
My  confession  having  been  made,  I  next  endeavored  to  treat 
with  the  mayor  for  an  immediate  release,  promising  to  leave 
the  city  so  soon  as  liberated,  my  idea  being  to  return  to  mili 
tary  life  forthwith,  as  I  had  had  quite  enough  of  New  Orleans 
for  the  present. 

A  FINE  AND  IMPRISONMENT. 

Mr.  Monroe,  however,  having  gotten  me  in  his  clutches, 
was  not  disposed  to  let  me  go  so  easily,  and  he  said  that  he 
would  be  compelled  to  fine  me  ten  dollars,  and  to  sentence 
me  to  ten  days'  imprisonment —  a  decision  that  did  not  increase 
my  good  opinion  of  him,  for  absolutely  nothing  had  been 
brought  up  against  my  character  or  my  conduct,  and  I  could 
not,  and  do  not  now,  see  the  justice  or  propriety  of  such  a 
proceeding. 

I  thought  that  this  was  pretty  rough  treatment,  considering 
all  that  I  had  done  to  serve  the  Confederacy.  From  the  out 
break  of  the  war  I  had  been  on  active  duty  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy,  and  had  taken  part  in  some  of  the  hardest  fought  bat 
tles  in  the  war,  while  my  persecutor  had  remained  at  home 
enjoying  his  ease,  and  taking  good  care  to  keep  out  of  danger. 
To  prove  this  to  him,  as  I  could  easily  have  done  by  procur- 


ENLISTED    AS   A   PRIVATE   SOLDIER.  181 

ing  testimonials  from  my  numerous  friends  in  the  army,  would 
have  ruined  all  my  hopes  and  expectations  for  the  future, 
however,  for,  in  spite  of  my  present  unpleasant  situation,  I 
was  resolved  not  to  give  the  thing  up.  So  I  concluded  that 
the  best  plan  was  to  suffer  in  silence,  and  to  allow  the  mayor 
to  have  what  satisfaction  he  could  get  out  of  my  ten  dollars  — 
I  wonder  if  any  of  it  went  into  the  city  treasury  ?  —  and  out 
of  keeping  me  incarcerated  for  ten  days. 

Resolving  to  be  as  patient  as  I  could,  and  to  be  even  with 
Mr.  Monroe  some  day,  if  ever  a  good  opportunity  presented 
itself,  I  consoled  myself  with  the  idea  that  my  term  of  im 
prisonment  was  a  short  one,  and  would  soon  be  over.  I  was 
dreadfully  tired  of  it,  however,  before  the  hour  of  release 
arrived  ;  and  each  day  my  indignation  at  such  an  unwarranted 
outrage  increased.  The  more  I  thought  over  the  matter  the 
less  was  T  able  to  see  that  there  was  any  valid  reason  for  my 
beini>-  subjected  to  such  treatment.-  At  length,  after  long  and 
impatient  waiting,  I  was  free  once  more  :  and  now  the  problem 
was  to  get  out  of  New  Orleans  as  quickly  as  possible,  before 
I  was  recognized  by  too  many  people,  and  in  such  disguise 
that  I  would  be  able  to  follow  the  bent  of  my  inclinations 
without  hinderance. 

Exactly  how  to  manage  this,  I  had  some  difficulty  in  deter 
mining;  but  as  the  situation  was  a  somewhat  desperate  one,  I 
was  ready  to  resort  to  a  desperate  measure  to  accomplish  my 
ends.  I  felt  sure  that  once  more  with  the  army  I  would  be 
safe ;  but,  with  so  many  suspicious  people  watching  me,  it 
would  be,  I  knew,  extremely  difficult  to  get  away  as  I  had 
come,  and  to  enter  upon  my  old  career  as  an  independent, 
without  questioning  or  hinderance.  It  was  therefore  necessary 
for  me  to  smuggle  myself,  so  to  speak,  among  the  soldiers  again, 
and  I  hit  upon  an  expedient  for  doing  so,  which,  although  I 
felt  that  it  was  risky,  1  resolved  to  try,  and  to  take  rrry  chances 
for  getting  out  of  a  new  difficulty  in  case  I  should  fall  into  one. 

I  ENLIST. 

As  soon  as  possible,  therefore,  after  obtaining  my  release,  I 
proceeded  to  the  recruiting  office  at  the  corner  of  Jefferson 
and  Chatham  Streets,  and  enlisted  in  Captain  B.  Moses'  com 
pany,  of  the  twenty-first  Louisiana  regiment.  The  next  day 
we  started  for  Fort  Pillow,  to  join  the  balance  of  the  regiment. 

In  this  manner  1  contrived  to  get  clear  of  New  Orleans,  but, 


182  READY   TO   MAKE   A   FRESH   START. 

as  I  had  no  fancy  for  going  on  duty  as  a  private  soldier  any 
longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  although  the  regiment 
of  which  I  was  a  member  was  as  gallant  a  one  as  ever  went 
into  battle,  and  my  comrades  were,  most  of  them,  pleasant, 
agreeable  fellows,  my  next  thought  was  to  resume  my  inde 
pendent  footing  at  the  earliest  moment.  I  therefore  went 
privately  to  General  Yillipigue,  and,  showing  my  commis 
sion,  told  a  plausible  story  to  account  for  my  enlistment,  and 
asked  him  to  give  me  employment  as  an  officer.  The  officers 
and  men  of  the  regiment,  of  course,  knew  nothing  of  my  being 
in  possession  of  this  document,  or  of  my  previous  history. 
General  Villipigue  was  not  able  to  do  anything  for  me,  as 
there  were  no  vacancies,  and  I  therefore  applied  for  a  trans 
fer  to  the  army  of  East  Tennessee,  and  was  very  cheerfully 
granted  it. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  been  regularly  mustered 
into  the  service,  and  the  step  was  taken,  not  from  choice,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  escaping  from  the  surveillance  of  Mayor 
Monroe  and  the  Provost  Marshal,  two  individuals  whom,  after 
a  very  brief  acquaintance,  I  did  not  particularly  care  to  know 
more  intimately.  I  had  many  regrets  in  parting  from  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  twenty -first  regiment,  whom  I  had 
learned  to  like  very  much  in  the  short  time  I  had  been  with 
them,  but  I  felt  that  my  interests  demanded  a  removal  to 
another  locality.  Consequently,  so  soon  as  I  received  my  pa 
pers,  I  said  adieu  to  my  new  friends,  and  was  off  with  all  pos 
sible  speed. 

I  was  not  in  a  very  happy  frame  of  mind,  and  my  physical 
condition  was  scarcely  better  than  my  mental.  The  occur 
rences  of  the  weeks  that  had  just  passed  had  not  been  of  the 
most  pleasurable  character,  and  my  personal  difficulties  in  New 
Orleans,  coming  as  they  did  when  I  had  not  recovered  from 
the  mental  and  bodily  suffering  caused  by  the  contest  at  Fort 
Donelson,  did  not  have  the  effect  of  making  me  view  life  from 
its  bright  side.  After  the  episode  of  a  ten  days'  sojourn  in 
prison,  however,  it  was  a  great  relief  for  me  to  feel  that  I  had 
my  destiny  in  my  own  hands  once  more ;  and  at  the  prospect 
of  again  entering  upon  a  life  of  adventure  that  would  afford 
me  opportunities  for  winning  distinction,  my  spirit  rose,  and  I 
was  disposed  to  dismiss  the  past,  with  all  its  unpleasantnesses, 
and  to  make  a  fresh  start  with  all  the  energy  I  could  command. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

AN   UNFORTUNATE   LOVE   AFFAIR. 

Again  at  Memphis.  —  Public  and  private  Difficulties.  —  Future  Prospects. 

—  Arrival  of  my  Negro  Boy  and  Baggage  from  Grand  Junction.  —  A 
new  uniform  Suit.  —  Prepared  once  more  to  face  the  World.  —  I  fall 
in  with  an  old  Friend.  —  An  Exchange  of  Compliments.  —  Late  Hours. 

—  Some  of  the  Effects  of  Late  Hours.  —  Confidential  Communications. 

—  The  Course  of  true  Love  runs  not  smooth.  —  I  renew  my  Acquaint 
ance   with    General   Lucius    M.   Polk.  —  The   General  disposed  to  be 
friendly.  —  My  Friend  and   I  call  on  his  Lady-love  and  her  Sister. — 
Surprising  Behavior  of    the  young  Lady.  —  A  genuine  Love-letter. — 
A  Secret  disclosed.  —  Incidents  of  a  Buggy  Ride.  —  A  Declaration  of 
Love.  —  Lieutenant    H.    T.    Buford    as    a    Lady-killer.  —  Why  should 
Women  not  pop  the  Question  as  well  as  Men?- — -A  melancholy  Dis 
closure  for  my  Friend.  —  I  endeavor  to   encourage  him. — A  Visit  to 
the  Theatre  and  an   enjoyable  Evening.  —  I  meet  a  Friend  from  New 
Orleans,  and  endeavor  to  remove  any  Suspicions  with  regard  to  my 
Identity  from  his  Mind.  —  Progress  of  my  Love-affair  with  Miss    M.  — 
The   young    Lady   and   I    have    our  Pictures    taken.  —  I     proceed    to 
Corinth  for  the  Purpose  of  taking    Part  in  the  expected  Battle.  —  The 
Confederate  Army  advances  from  Corinth  towards  Pittsburg  Landing. 

'AVING  secured  my  transportation  and  trans 
fer  papers,  I  went  to  Memphis  by  the  first 
boat,  and  was  erelong  once  again  at  my 
original  starting-point,  but  in  a  much  less 
enviable  mood  than  when  I  had  last  visited 
it.  Then  I  was  dissatisfied  with  the  way 
which  things  seemed  to  be  going,  and  especially 
with  the  - —  as  it  appeared  to  me  —  very  unnecessary 
and  vexatious  difficulties  that  presented  themselves 
whenever  I  attempted  to  secure  such  a  position  as 
would  enable  me  to  labor  with  the  most  efficiency.  My  con 
fidence  in  the  sacredness  of  the  cause,  in  the  ability  of  the 
Southern  armies  to  sustain  it,  and  its  ultimate  triumph,  were, 
however,  unbroken,  notwithstanding  that  I  believed  precious 
time  was  being  wasted,  and  that,  through  a  mistaken  policy, 
the  Confederates  were  compelled  to  stand  upon  the  defensive, 

183 


184  UNDISMAYED. 

when  they  ought  to  have  assumed  the  aggressive,  and  attacked 
the  enemy  on  his  own  ground. 

Now,  however,  things  had  changed.  The  terrible  disaster  at 
Fort  Donelson  had  been  a  rude  blow  to  my  ideas  of  Southern 
invincibility  in  the  field,  and  if  it  did  not  induce  me  to  despair, 
it  certainly  opened  my  eyes  to  the  magnitude  of  the  task  we 
had  on  hand,  and  compelled  rne  to  recognize  the  fact,  that  we 
were  contending  with  a  resolute  and  powerful  enemy,  whose 
resources  were  enormously  superior  to  ours,  and  who  was 
evidently  bent  upon  crushing  us  to  the  earth,  and  compelling 
us  to  submit  to  his  dictation.  All  the  fine  dreams  of  the 
previous  summer  were  dissipated  into  thin  air,  but  there 
still  remained  the  consolation,  that  during  the  bitter  struggle 
yet  to  come,  there  would  doubtless  be  plenty  of  opportunities 
for  me  to  serve  the  cause  with  efficiency,  and  to  win  personal 
glory  by  my  performances. 

I  had  a  certain  grim  satisfaction,  too,  in  thinking  that,  as 
things  were  going,  my  ambition  to  do  some  genuine  hard 
work  would  scarcely  be  so  lightly  regarded  in  certain  quar 
ters  as  it  had  been,  and  that  my  zeal  would  consequently  be 
recognized  and  rewarded  as  I  thought  that  it  deserved 
to  be. 

DIFFICULTIES  OF  MY  POSITION. 

Apart  altogether  from  the  disappointments  incident  to  the 
military  situation,  were  my  private  difficulties.  My  sex  had 
been  discovered  ;  and  notwithstanding  my  motives  for  assum 
ing  male  attire,  and  my  exemplary  conduct  while  doing  a 
soldier's  duty,  I  had  been  subjected  to  gross  indignities, 
simply  because  I  chose  to  peribrm  a  man's,  rather  than  a 
woman's  work.  This  galled  me,  especially  as  my  secret  having 
once  been  revealed,  it  would  now  be  more  than  ever  difficult 
for  me  to  figure  successfully  as  a  man,  and  I  knew  that  I 
would  constantly  be  in  danger  of  detection. 

Notwithstanding  this,  however,  I  was  undismayed,  and  was 
resolved  upon  carrying  out  my  original  programme,  so  far  as 
was  practicable,  and  only  sought  a  field  of  operations  where  I 
would  be  able  to  follow  the  bent  of  my  inclinations  with  as 
little  probability  as  possible  of  being  interfered  with. 

Having  accomplished  my  object  in  leaving  New  Orleans, 
and  of  maintaining  a  masculine  appearance  in  doing  so,  I  was 
encouraged  to  believe  that  I  would  be  able,  by  a  little  discreet 
management,  to  get  along  without  a  repetition  of  the  troubles 


THE   TAILOR   MAKES   THE   MAN.  185 

I  had  encountered  in  that  city,  that  in  the  sharp  fighting 
about  to  occur  between  the  contending  armies,  I  would  be 
able  to  show  my  qualities  as  a  soldier  to  even  greater 
advantage  than  hitherto,  and  that  amid  the  excitements  of 
the  battle-field  and  the  camp  I  would  forget,  or  at  least 
cease  to  think  about,  the  unpleasant  things  of  the  past. 

So  soon  as  I  arrived  at  Memphis,  I  telegraphed  to  Grand 
Junction  for  my  baggage  and  my  servant,  and  then  went  to 
the  tailor,  and  giving  him  an  order  for  an  officer's  uniform  suit, 
with  instructions  to  have  it  ready  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  borrowed  from  him  a  coat  to  wear  until  my  new 
clothing  should  be  ready.  I  discarded  my  soldier's  jacket 
with  quite  as  much  satisfaction  as  had  inspired  me  on  assum 
ing  it,  and  prepared  myself  to  -wait,  with  what  equanimity  I 
could  command,  the  moment  when  I  might  be  able  to  figure 
once  more  in  the  eyes  of  both  sexes  as  the  dashing  young 
independent,  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford.  Clothing,  and 
particular  cuts  of  clothing,  have  a  great  deal  to  do  towards 
making  us  all,  men  or  women,  appear  what  we  would  like  the 
world  to  take  us  for ;  and  as,  although  my  borrowed  coat 
answered  a  temporary  purpose  very  well,  it  did  not  show  me 
off  to  the  best  advantage,  I  resolved  to  keep  out  of  sight  as 
much  as  possible  until  the  tailor  had  executed  his  task.  I  was 
really  not  sorry  for  an  opportunity  to  shut  myself  up  for  a 
day  or  two,  so  that  I  could  take  a  thorough  rest,  and  think, 
without  being  interrupted,  what  was  the  best  plan  of  action 
for  the  immediate  future. 

MY  NEGRO  BOY  BOB. 

The  next  night,  about  eleven  o'clock,  my  faithful  boy  Bob 
arrived  with  my  baggage,  and  was  delighted  to  see  me  again, 
although  my  haggard  appearance  evidently  surprised  and 
shocked  him.  Poor  fellow  !  He  little  knew  what  I  had  passed 
through  since  I  had  parted  with  him. 

"  Why,  Mas'  Harry,"  he  said,  "  you  do  look  dreadful  bad. 
Has  you  been  sick?  " 

"  Yes,  Bob,"  I  replied.  "  I  have  been  quite  ill  since  I  left 
you,  hut  I  am  getting  quite  well  now,  and  am  ready  to  go  for 
the  Yankees  again." 

Bob's  eyes  sparkled  at  this,  for  he  was  beginning  to  love 
fighting  almost  as  much  as  myself,  although  the  experiences 
of  Fort  Donelson  had  served  to  extinguish  a  good  deal  of  the 


186  THOSE  MUSTACHES. 

martial  ardor  that  was  burning  in  bis  heart.  I  told  him 
enough  about  my  movements  since  I  had  seen  him  last  to 
gratify  his  curiosity,  and  to  enable  him  to.  make  satisfactory 
answers  in  case  any  one  should  question  him ;  and  then, 
giving  him  orders  to  call  a  hack,  we  drove  to  the  Gegora 
House,  where  I  took  rooms,  and  prepared  to  have  as  good  a 
time  as  circumstances  would  permit. 

IN  UNIFORM  AGAIN. 

My  new  uniform  suit  was  ready  at  the  appointed  time,  and 
I  hastened  to  array  myself  in  it.  Making  my  toilet  with  more 
than  usual  care,  and  rearranging  my  mustache  and  imperial, 
which  had  become  somewhat  demoralized  of  late,  I  took  a 
cane  in  hand,  and  strolled  out  to  see  what  was  to  be  seen,  not 
without  a  little  trepidation,  but  feeling,  on  the  whole,  better 
satisfied  with  myself  and  with  things  in  general  than  I  had 
clone  for  a  long  time. 

After  stepping  in  and  out  of  a  number  of  the  principal 
saloons  and  drinking-places,  I  finally  came  across  a  friend 
whom  I  was  really  very  glad  to  meet.  This  was  Lieutenant 
Philip  Hastings,  a  whole-souled  fellow,  for  whom  I  had  an 
especial  liking,  and  whom  I  accordingly  greeted  with  great 
cordiality.  Hastings  returned  my  greeting  in  an  equally 
cordial  manner.  Shaking  me  by  the  hand,  he  said,  "  I  am  glad 
to  see  you,  old  fellow.  What  is  the  good  news  with  you? 
Where  are  you  from  ?  " 

"  I  am  just  from  the  Gulf  City,"  I  replied. 

"  Ah,"  said  he  ;  "  what  is  there  new  there  ?  Did  you  have 
a  good  time  ?  I  suppose  you  were  on  a  leave  of  absence." 

"  0,  yes,"  said  I ;  "  I  always  manage  to  have  a  pretty  good 
time  wherever  I  go." 

A  DELICATE  SUBJECT. 

Said  Hastings,  looking  at  me  sharply,  "  I  see  you  have 
been  raising  a  new  crop  of  mustaches." 

I  am  afraid  that  I  smiled  in  a  rather  sickly  manner  at  this ; 
but  putting  on  as  bold  an  air  as  I  could  command,  I  gave  the 
ornaments  of  my  upper  lip  a  twist,  to  let  him  see  that  they 
were  on  tight,  and  said,  "  Yes,  I  have  been  letting  them  rush 
a  little ;  the  girls  tell  me  they  are  an  improvement." 

Hastings  then  asked  me  where  I  was  going ;  and  I  replied, 


LIVELIER   THAN  THE   LAW   ALLOWS.  187 

that  I  expected  to  join  Beau-regard's  army,  but  that  my  plans 
were  a  little  uncertain,  as  I  was  unfortunately  an  independent, 
who  belonged  nowhere  in  particular ;  and  that,  as  the  com 
manding  officers  were  getting  so  confoundedly  strict  with 
regard  to  a  good  many  things,  while  they  were  not  half  strict 
enough  about  others  of  more  consequence,  I  was  not  sure 
where  I  would  bring  up.  I  added,  that  I  was  at  present  in 
the  detective  corps,  and  offered  to  serve  him  in  any  way  in 
my  power.  He  thanked  me  ;  and  then  I  asked  him  how  he 
was  getting  along,  and  what  time  he  had  been  stationed  in 
Memphis. 

He  informed  me  that  he  had  been  on  duty  there  about  three 
months,  but  that  he  expected  to  be  ordered  to  the  front  very 
soon. 

After  a  little  more  conversation  of  this  sort,  Hastings  said, 
"  I  am  trying  to  marry  a  mighty  pretty  girl  here,  but  I  don't 
somehow  get  along  with  her  as  well  as  I  could  wish.  She  is 
a  good  girl,  just  as  good  as  they  get  to  be,  and  she  has  a 
deucedly  pretty  sister,  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  I 
think  would  suit  you.  They  are  not  rich,  but  they  are  mighty 
nice,  and  I  would  like  to  introduce  you." 

"  Well,  Phil,"  said  I,  "  I  arn  willing  —  anything  to  pass  the 
time  pleasantly." 

"  Well,  let's  take  a  drink,"  said  Hastings,  "  and  we  will  go 
and  see  them." 

AFTER  VISITING  HOURS. 

Hastings  had  been  taking  something  before  I  met  him,  and 
as  I  had  treated  just  after  we  met,  this  additional  drink  had 
the  effect  of  making  him  rather  livelier  than  the  law  allowed. 
He  took  a  brandy  smash,  and  a  full-sized  one,  while  I,  accord 
ing  to  custom,  drank  cider.  Then  lighting  our  cigars,  we 
strolled  down  the  street,  my  companion  bent  on  making  the 
proposed  call.  I  knew,  however,  that  it  must  be  past  visiting 
hours,  and,  stopping  under  a  lamp-post,  pulled  out  my  watch, 
and,  glancing  at  it,  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  time  it  was. 

"  0,  it's  not  late,"  said  he  ;  "  about  eleven  o'clock ;  they 
won't  be  gone  to  bed  yet." 

I  showed  him  the  dial  of  the  watch,  and  he  exclaimed, 
"  Thunder  and  lightning  !  Why,  it's  one  o'clock.'' 

Notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  however,  he  was 
very  much  disposed  to  insist  on  going  to  see  the  ladies,  but 


188  CONFIDENTIAL. 

finally  I  succeeded  in  persuading  him  of  the  impropriety  of 
such  a  course,  although  he  yielded  very  unwillingly.  He 
then  wanted  to  go  and  make  a  night  of  it  somewhere  ;  and  on 
my  refusing,  started  off  by  himself,  I  being  unable  to  induce 
him  to  go  home  and  get  in  bed.  I  did,  however,  talk  him 
into  letting  me  take  charge  of  his  money,  with  the  exception 
of  his  small  change,  and  on  the  plea  that  I  had  promised  to 
meet  a  friend  at  the  hotel,  contrived  to  get  away  from  him. 
I  disliked  very  much  to  let  Phil  go  off  by  himself  in  the  con 
dition  he  was  in,  but  as  he  was  just  enough  under  the  influence 
of  what  he  had  imbibed  to  be  troublesome,  and  was  bent  upon 
having  what  he  called,  some  fun,  my  own  safety  demanded 
that  I  should  leave  him.  My  New  Orleans  experience  had 
been  a  severe  one,  and  it  was  much  too  fresh  in  my  memory 
for  me  to  be  willing  to  run  any  unnecessary  risks  of  being 
arrested  on  similar  charges  in  Memphis,  especially  as  I  felt 
certain  that  it  would  not  be  so  easy  to  get  out  of  the  clutches 
of  the  authorities  a  second  time,  while  my  future  prospects 
would,  in  all  probability,  be  irreparably  damaged.  So,  cau 
tioning  my  friend  to  take  good  care  of  himself,  I  went  back 
to  the  hotel  as  fast  as  I  could,  and  was  soon  asleep. 

MISPLACED  AFFECTION. 

The  next  morning  Phil  came  around  to  the  hotel  to  claim 
his  money,  which  amounted  to  over  two  thousand  dollars  in 
Confederate  bills.  He  did  not  look  as  fresh  as  he  might  have 
done  if  he  had  followed  the  good  advice  I  gave  him  the  night 
before,  was  in  a  somewhat  repentent  mood,  and,  as  people 
when  feeling  rather  badly  through  their  own  indiscretion  are 
apt  to  feel,  he  was  very  confidential  about  a  variety  of  private 
affairs.  During  our  conversation  that  morning,  he  told  me 
any  number  of  his  secrets,  and  especially  gave  me  to  under 
stand  that  matters  were  not  going  as  well  as  could  be  wished 
between  him  and  his  lady-love.  I  had  a  fancy  that  the  young 
lady  was,  perhaps,  offended  at  something  he  had  said  or  done 
while  a  little  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and  tried  to  con 
sole  him  and  to  encourage  him,  by  offering  to  aid  him  in  any 
way  I  could  towards  straightening  matters  out.  I  little  sus 
pected  what  the  real  difficulty  was,  or  I,  perhaps,  would  not 
have  been  so  ready  in  offering  my  assistance.  Alas,  poor 
Phil !  his  affections  were  bestowed  in  the  wrong  direction, 
but  he  lived  in  hope  that  things  would  finally  shape  them- 


GENERAL   LUCIUS   M.    POLK.  189 

selves  according  to  his  wishes,  and  he  confidently  expected 
that  in  time  he  would  be  able  so  to  soften  the  lady's  heart 
towards  him,  that  she  would  accept  his  hand.  His  dreams 
of  happiness,  however,  were  cut  short  in  an  untimely  manner, 
for  1  saw  him  fall,  while  fighting  bravely,  about  two  weeks 
subsequently,  at  the  head  of  his  company,  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh. 

Phil  took  breakfast  with  me,  and  after  our  meal  was  de 
spatched,  we  went  to  a  livery  stable,  and,  obtaining  a  couple 
of  horses,  rode  out  to  camp.  I  dined  with  him  about  four 
o'clock,  and  then  we  rode  leisurely  back  to  town,  and  went  up 
to  my  room,  where  we  smoked  and  chatted  until  supper- 
time. 

On  going  into  the  supper-room,  I  noticed  that  the  e}Tes  of  a 
number  of  people  whom  I  knew,  and  especially  of  several 
ladies  by  whom  I  was  in  some  little  fear  of  being  recognized, 
were  fixed  upon  me.  I,  however,  gave  my  mustaches  a 
savage  twist,  and  putting  on  as  manly  a  swagger  as  I  was 
able  to  command,  determined  to  brave  all  consequences. 

I  MEET  GENERAL  L.  M.  POLK  AGAIN. 

My  old  friend,  General  Lucius  M.  Polk,  was  seated  at  one 
of  the  tables,  and  I  took  a  seat  which  brought  me  nearly  back 
to  back  with  him.  He  did  not  notice  me  when  I  came  in,  and 
I  did  not  care  to  intrude  myself  upon  him,  so  did  nothing  to 
attract  his  attention.  Soon,  however,  I  said  to  Hastings, 
pointing  to  an  old  lady  in  another  part  of  the  room,  "  Lieu 
tenant,  there  is  one  of  the  ladies  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  Camp  Beauregard  when  I  was  doing  provost  duty 
on  the  train." 

When  General  Polk  heard  this,  he  evidently  recogriized  a 
familiar  voice,  and  turning  round,  shook  hands  with  me  very 
cordially. 

"  Excuse  me,  general,"  said  I,  "  but  I  did  not  see  you  when 
I  came  in." 

"  When  did  you  arrive  ?  "  said  the  general. 

"  Last  evening,"  I  replied. 

"  Where  are  you  from  ?  " 

"  From  New  Orleans." 

"  Is  there  anything  new  ?  " 

"  No ;  matters  are  pretty  much  as  usual.  Is  there  anything 
new  in  camp  ?  " 


190  PHIL'S  SWEETHEART  AND  HER  SISTER. 

"  Well,"  said  the  general,  "  we  are  expecting  to  have  anoth 
er  battle  before  long'." 

"  Then,"  said  I,  "  I  am  just  in  time." 

"  Yes,  if  you  want  to  have  a  hand  in  it,"  he  said.  "  Are 
you  going  out?  " 

"  Probably  day  after  to-morrow,"  I  replied. 

"  I  go  at  ten  o'clock  this  evening,"  said  the  general ; 
and  then,  turning  to  the  lady  with  him,  he  said,  "  Permit  me 
to  introduce  you  to  Mrs.  Polk." 

I  introduced  Hastings  to  the  general  and  his  wife,  and  after 
a  little  chat  with  them,  they  said  good  by,  and  left  the  room. 
Hastings  and  I  finished  our  supper,  and  then  strolled  into  the 
bar-room  and  lighted  our  cigars. 

He  was  now  impatient  to  have  me  go  with  him  to  call  on 
his  girl ;  so  I  took  his  arm,  and  we  sauntered  down  the  street 
together  in  the  direction  of  the  house  which  contained  the 
object  of  his  adoration.  We  stood  on  the  corner  for  a  little 
while  until  we  had  finished  our  smoke,  and  then  went  up  to 
the  front  door,  where  Phil  rang  the  bell. 

A  SOCIAL  CALL. 

I  always  felt  a  little  timorous  and  unpleasant  when  com 
pelled  to  play  the  role  I  had  undertaken,  in  a  social  way, 
among  members  of  my  own  sex ;  and  whether  because  of  my 
recent  adventure  in  New  Orleans,  or  for  some  other  cause,  I 
felt  unusually  reluctant  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  Phil's 
lady  friends.  Had  I  then  suspected  all  that  I  found  out 
afterwards,  I  would  have  been  even  more  dubious  about  the 
propriety  of  permitting  myself  to  be  introduced. 

We  took  our  seats  in  the  parlor,  and  soon  the  two  young 
ladies  made  their  appearance.  I  was  introduced  j  and  as  I 
could  see  that  Hastings  desired  to  converse  with  Miss  M.,  I 
undertook  to  make  myself  as  agreeable  as  possible  to  Miss 
E.  We  did  not  get  along  very  well  together,  however,  for 
she  was  very  shy  and  bashful,  while  I  was  far  from  feeling  at 
my  ease,  and  was  conscious  of  not  distinguishing  myself  very 
greatly  as  a  lady's  man. 

After  a  little  while,  as  our  conversation  was  not  very  enliv 
ening,  Miss  E.,  apparently  as  much  to  break  the  monotony  of 
the  performance  as  anything  else,  went  out,  and  returned 
shortly  with  a  servant  girl  bearing  a  waiter  of  applet.  This 
brought  the  other  couple  out  of  the  corner  where  they  had 


CUPID'S  PRANKS.  191 

been  sitting  and  conversing  in  a  low  tone,  and  the  four  of  us 
amused  ourselves  by  eating  apples  and  telling  fortunes  with 
the  seeds.  This  appeared  to  afford  some  amusement  to  the 
other  three,  but  1  found  it  rather  dull  entertainment,  and 
heartily  wished  that  the  evening  was  over.  Phil,  however, 
was  so  wrapped  up  with  his  lady,  that  he  was  in  no  hurry  to 
go ;  but  somehow  Miss  M.  did  not  appear  to  fancy  him  by  any 
means  as  much  as  he  did  her,  and  before  a  great  while  they 
had  quite  a  falling  out,  and  she  addressed  her  conversation 
chiefly  to  me,  and  seemed  to  have  taken  quite  a  liking  to  me. 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  warmth  of  her  manner,  but 
supposed  that  she  was  merely  trying  to  provoke  Phil  by  a 
little  coquetry,  and  never  imagined  for  an  instant  that  there  was 
anything  serious  in  it  all. 
» 

UNEXPECTED  CORDIALITY. 

When  we  arose  to  leave,  Miss  M.  was  scarcely  polite  to 
Phil,  but  she  looked  at  me  in  a  very  bewildering  way ;  and 
squeezing  my  hand  a  little  more  than  our  brief  acquaintance 
warranted,  gave  me  a  most  pressing  invitation  to  call  again. 

As  we  walked  up  the  street,  Phil  asked  me  how  I  was 
pleased,  and  then  told  me  all  about  his  falling  out  with  his 
girl.  She,  it  seems,  had  insisted,  with  considerable  vehemence, 
that  she  did  not,  could  not,  and  would  not,  love  him,  and  he 
was  very  much  disposed  to  think,  from  what  she  said,  and 
from  the  manner  in  which  she  behaved,  that  some  other  fellow 
was  cutting  him  out.  He  little  imagined  that  his  friend, 
Harry  T.  Buford,  was  the  innocent  and  unsuspecting  cause 
of  his  troubles.  I  tried  to  cheer  him  up  as  well  as  I  could, 
and  then  we  parted,  he  to  get  his  horse  for  a  night  ride  to 
camp,  and  I  to  go  to  bed  at  the  hotel. 

A  SECRET  REVEALED. 

The  next  day  I  received  two  letters,  one  of  which  was  from 
my  future  husband  ;  for,  gentle  reader,  all  these  months  that,  in 
a  guise  of  a  man,  I  had  been  breaking  young  ladies'  hearts  by 
my  fascinating  figure  and  manner,  my  own  woman's  heart 
had  an  object  upon  which  its  affections  were  bestowed,  and  I 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  truly  noble  officer  of  the 
Confederate  army,  who  knew  me,  both  as  a  man  and  as  a 
woman,  but  who  little  suspected  that  Lieutenant  Harry  T. 


192  PHIL'S  MISFORTUNE. 

Buford,  and  his  intended  wife,  were  one  and  the  same  person. 
By  this  letter,  I  learned  that  my  lover  was  then  at  Corinth, 
where  I  expected  to  meet  him  in  a  few  days,  and  my  heart 
jumped  for  joy  at  the  idea  of  being  able  to  fight  by  his  side  in 
the  battle  that  was  coming  off.  This  I  was  determined  to  do, 
if  the  thing  could  be  managed.  , 

Under  the  influence  of  the  pleasurable  emotions  excited  by 
this  letter,  and  the  prospect  of  again  seeing  the  man  1  loved 
after  a  separation  of  many  months,  I  wrote  a  note  to  the  two 
young  ladies  I  had  visited  the  night  before,  inviting  them  to  go 
buggy-riding.  I  then  went  to  the  bank  and  drew  some,  money, 
and  on  my  return  to  the  hotel,  found  an  acceptance  from  my 
lady  friends. 

I  accordingly  hired  a  couple  of  teams,  one  for  Hastings, 
and  one  for  myself;  but  on  arriving  at  the  house,  much  to 
PhiPs  disgust,  Miss  M.  would  not  go  with  him,  and  he  took  her 
sister,  while  his  lady,  with  great  apparent  satisfaction,  seated 
herself  in  my  vehicle.  I  felt  for  him,  for  I  knew  that  he  was 
terribly  disappointed  ;  and  with  a  just  received  love-lei ter  of 
my  own  in  my  pocket,  I  was  more  appreciative  of  his  emotions 
than  I  probably  otherwise  would  have  been,  and  made  an  at 
tempt  towards  effecting  another  arrangement.  Phil,  however, 
put  on  a  careless  air,  as  if  it  were  all  one  to  him  which  girl  he 
had,  and  tipping  me  a  wink,  said  that  he  was  satisfied  as 
things  were. 

When  we  got  started,  I  said  to  Miss  M.,  "  I  am  afraid  I  am 
interfering  with  my  friend's  pleasure." 

"  0,"  said  she,  "  it's  all  right.  I  don't  belong  to  him.  He 
is  mad  with  me,  and  I  don't  care  if  he  never  gets  pleased 
again." 

"  You  must  be  mistaken,"  I  said.  "  I  know  that  he  thinks 
a  great  deal  of  you,  and  he  would  not  offend  you  for  the 
world.  You  oughtn't  to  be  hurt  at  his  brusque  manner 
sometimes,  for  it's  just  a  way  he  has,  and  he  don't  mean  any 
thing  by  it." 

"  I  don't  care  what  his  manner  is,"  she  put  in,  rather  tartly, 
"  for  I  don't  love  him,  and  wish  that  he  wouldn't  bother  me." 

A  GOOD  WORD  FOR  A  FRIEND. 

This  induced  me  to  think  that  I  could  put  in  a  good  word 
for  Hastings,  and,  perhaps,  soften  the  heart  of  the  lady  towards 
him.  I  accordingly  began  to  set  forth  all  his  good  qualities 


ANOTHER  CONQUEST  FOR  LIEUTENANT  BUFORD.      193 

in  the  best  light,  and  to  try  and  persuade  her  that  it  was  worth 
while  to  win  the  affections  of  such  a  fine  fellow. 

So  soon  as  she  fairly  comprehended  what  my  meaning  was, 
she  would  not  let  me  proceed ;  saying,  "  It's  no  use  of  talking 
to  me  about  Lieutenant  Hastings.  I  cannot  love  him,  for  I  am 
in  love  with  another  man,  and  would  give  anything  in  the 
world  if  I  could  only  possess  his  heart." 

I  thought  that  this  was  getting  to  be  rather  more  confiden 
tial  than  there  was  any  necessity  for,  considering  our  short 
acquaintance ;  and  had  I  been  a  man,  I  suppose  it  would  have 
been  quite  the  proper  thing  for  me  to  have  become  embar 
rassed.  As  things  were,  however,  I  was  rather  amused  at  the 
idea  of  the  young  lady  undertaking  to  reveal  the  state  of  her 
affections  in  such  an  explicit  manner,  but  never  suspected 
what  she  was  really  driving  at.  I  fancied  that  she  was  merely 
trying  to  draw  me  out  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  what  I  would 
say  to  her,  and  thought  that  her  real  object,  after  all,  was  to 
stimulate  Phil's  affections  *by  making  him  a  little  jealous. 
Women,  as  I  have  more  means  than  one  of  knowing,  are  in  the 
habit  of  playing  just  such  little  tricks  as  these,  and  it  is  as 
tonishing  what  luck  they  have  in  making  them  succeed. 

After  considering  a  moment  what  I  had  better  say  in  reply 
to  Miss  M.'s  bit  of  confidential  communication,  I  asked  if  I 
knew  the  fortunate  individual  who  had  made  the  conquest  of 
her  affections. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  looking  at  me  out  of  the  corners  of  her 
eyes,  and  then  bashfully  dropping  her  eyelids,  and  doing  her 
best  to  blush. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  if  you  will  tell  me  his  name,  I  will  try  and 
find  out  for  you  what  his  feelings  are.  Perhaps  if  I  give  him 
a  hint  that  a  nice  girl  is  in  love  with  him,  he  will  try  and  make 
himself  agreeable." 

A  REVELATION. 

She  hesitated,  sighed,  bit  her  lips,  made  a  desperate  attempt 
at  blushing,  and  finally  murmured,  in  what  was  evidently  in 
tended  to  be  a  sweet,  low,  and  very  touching  tone  of  voice, 
"  I  will  tell  you  his  initials ;  "  and  then,  after  a  moment's  hesi 
tation,  "  They  are  H.  T.  B." 

Before  this  came  out,  I  was  beginning  to  understand  from 

what  direction  the  wind  was  blowing;  and  when  this  very 

broad  hint  was  given,  I  could  scarcely  contain  myself  from 

laughing  outright,  the  situation  was  so  supremely  ridiculous. 

13 


194  DECLARATION   OF   LOVE. 

I  managed,  however,  to  keep  a  straight  face,  and  feeling  a 
real  sympathy  for  Phil,  and  an  anxiety  to  make  matters  all 
right  for  him  if  I  could,  I  pretended  not  to  understand  who 
the  fortunate  one  could  be,  and  said,  "  Where  does  he  live  ? 
Is  he  an  officer  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,"  she  answered,  "  and  one  of  the  sweetest,  hand 
somest  fellows  that  ever  lived.  He  stops  at  one  of  the  most 
fashionable  hotels." 

I  felt  immensely  flattered  at  this,  as  may  be  conceived,  but 
could  not  help  thinking  that,  however  entertaining  it  might  be 
to  me,  it  was  awful  rough  on  Hastings.  I  still,  however,  pre 
tended  that  I  could  not  understand,  the  lady  all  the  while 
wondering,  doubtless,  what  made  me  so  confoundedly  obtuse ; 
and  after  pretending  for  a  few  moments  to  be  guessing,  I  finally 
said,  "  Well,  I'll  give  it  up ;  I  don't  know  who  it  can  be." 
And  then,  as  if  a  bright  idea  had  just  struck  me,  added,  "  0, 
here,  just  write  his  name  in  my  diary,  if  you.  are  too  bashful 
to  tell  me." 

I  accordingly  handed  her  the  book  and  a  pencil,  and  she 
wrote  my  name,  and  handed  it  back,  blushing  more  furiously 
than  ever. 

I  read  the  name ;  and  pretending  to  be  astonished,  and 
dreadfully  shocked,  exclaimed,  "  0,  this  cannot  be  possible  !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  "  you  are  the  object  of  my  affections,  and 
have  been  for  a  long  time,  and  I  am  determined  not  to  love 
any  one  else." 

This  was  rushing  the  thing  rather  stronger  than  I  thought 
there  was  any  occasion  for ;  and  wondering  what  on  earth  the 
girl  meant,  I  asked,  "  Since  when  have  I  been  the  object  of 
your  affections?  I  have -only  been  acquainted  with  you  since 
last  night." 

"  I  have  loved  you.  ever  since  last  November,  when  I  saw 
you  in  the  cars.  We  were  strangers  then,  but  I  have  been 
longing  ever  since  for  an  opportunity  to  make  your  acquaint 
ance." 

I  began  to  wonder  how  many  more  susceptible  feminine 
hearts  I  had  unwittingly  conquered  during  my  military  con- 
ductorship ;  but  thinking  still  of  Phil's  misfortune,  I  asked  her 
whether  she  had  ever  told  him  of  all  this. 

She  replied  that  she  had,  but  that,  not  knowing  my  name, 
she  was  unable  to  inform  him  who  his  rival  was,  although  she 
>had  informed  him  that  there  was  a  rival. 

-Here,  thought  I,  was  a  nice  mess ;  and  I  scarcely  knew 


A  PERPLEXING  PREDICAMENT.  195 

whether  to  be  amused  or  disgusted  at  the  perversity  of  Fate, 
which  made  me  such  an  irresistible  lady-killer.  MissM.  was  evi 
dently  dead  in  earnest,  and  was  a  nice,  attractive-looking,  and 
r.eal  good  girl,  who  would  have  made  Phil  a  capital  wife.  As 
for  her  forwardness  in  letting  me  know  the  state  of  her  affec 
tions  for  me,  I  could  not  blame  her  for  that ;  for  I  had  adopted 
a  similar  expedient  in  my  own  case,  and  considered  that,  al 
though  it  is,  as  a  rule,  a  man's  place  to  make  the  first  ad 
vances,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  a  woman  who  is  in  love 
with  a  man  should  not  take  measures  to  let  him  know  the  fact. 
The  conventionalities  of  society  are  not  always  based  on  rea 
son  and  common  sense,  and  even  where  they  have  a  rationalistic 
basis,  people  are  very  apt  to  quibble  about  very  immaterial 
points,  to  the  neglect  of  really  weighty,  matters. 
* 

A  QUESTION  OF  PROPRIETY. 

In  the  relations  of  the  sexes,  there  are  many  points  which 
society  insists  upon  for  the  sake  of  the  proprieties,  which  are 
absolutely  absurd  when  tested  by  any  common-sense  standard, 
while  permitting  a  laxity  of  manners  in  others  that  is  far  from 
being  conducive  to  good  morals  or  to  the  general  happiness. 
Many  a  woman  has  lost  a  good  husband  through  a  false  mod 
esty,  which  would  not  permit  her  to  even  give  him  a  hint  with 
regard  to  her  real  feelings ;  for  some  of  the  best  and  most 
whole-souled  men  are  frequently  as  timid  and  bashful  as  the 
most  timid  and-  bashful  women,  and  require  some  encourage 
ment  before  they  can  be  induced  to  speak ;  while  others  are 
strangely  obtuse,  and  do  not  even  think  of  being  anything 
more  than  commonly  polite  to  particular  ladies,  unless  some 
thing  is  done  to  stimulate  them.  Such  backward  and  thick- 
witted  men  are  often  the  most  ardent  lovers,  and  the  fondest 
and  best  of  husbands  when  they  are  once  aroused.  Many  a 
woman,  too,  is  fond  of  one  man  while  she  is  being  persistently 
courted  by  another;  and  if,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case,  the  object 
of  her  regards  refuses  to  notice  her  in  the  manner  she  wishes, 
—  perhaps  simply  because  he  does  not  like  to  interfere  with 
another  man's  love  affair,  —  she  has  no  resource,  if  she  hopes 
for  a  happy  future,  but  to  declare  herself.  There  was,,  there 
fore,  no  occasion  for  censuring  Miss  M. ;  but  the  fact  that  Phil's 
rival  happened  to  be,  of  all  people  in  the  world,  Lieutenant 
Harry  T.  Buford,  C.  S.  A.,  certainly  complicated  the  situation. 

I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  have  a  little  sport  at  the 


196  MAGNANIMITY. 

expense  of  Miss  M. ;  but  I  was  really  desirous  of  trying  so  to 
manage  matters  that  Phil  would  be  placed  in  a  better  position 
with  his  lady  than  before.  I  knew  that  the  worst  thing  I 
could  do  would  be  to  repel  her  advances,  and  concluded  that 
it  was  incumbent  upon  me  to  at  least  meet  her  half  way.  As 
she  still  continued  to  address  me  with  some  degree  of  for 
mality  as  Lieutenant,  or  Mr.  Buford,  I  —  giving  her  an  ogle  that 
was  intended  to  be  very  sympathetic,  and  to  indicate  how 
profoundly  my  feelings  had  been  wrought  upon  —  suggested 
that  she  should  call  me  Harry.  This  was  said  in  a  very  tender 
tone,  and  evidently  made  a  great  impression.  During  the  bal 
ance  of  the  ride  we  exchanged  confidences  in  a  very  lover- 
like  manner,  and  by  the  time  we  reached  home  .again,  Miss  M. 
was  in  a  very  happ}7  state  of  mind,  being  convinced  that  she 
had  made  a  conquest  of  the  man  she  had  so  long  sighed  for. 
It  was  all  very  absurd,  of  course,  and  very  melancholy  from  a 
certain  point  of  view ;  but  I  could  not  help  being  amused,  al 
though  I  wished  myself  well  out  of  the  scrape,  and  resolved  to 
inform  Phil  how  matters  stood  immediately. 

A  SURPRISE  FOR  MY  FRIEND. 

Having  returned  our  teams  to  the  .livery  stable,  I  invited 
him  to  my  room,  and  having  settled  ourselves  for  a  smoke,  I 
disclosed  the  whole  situation  to  him.  He  was  very  much  sur 
prised,  and  a  good  deal  cut  up  by  what  I  told  him,  and  said 
Miss  M.  had  often  spoken  to  him  of  another  officer  for  whom 
she  had  an  affection,  but  that  he  had  never  imagined  that  it 
was  I. 

I  told  him  that  I  was  quite  as  much  surprised  as  himself, 
and  that  I  certainly  should  not  have  called  upon  the  lady  had 
I  known  what  was  going  to  happen. 

Phil  paced  up  and  down  the  room  a  good  deal  agitated ;  and 
at  length  he  burst  out  with,  "Well,  now,  lieutenant,  ain't 
women  d — d  deceitful  things  anyhow?  but  I  shan't  mind  being 
gone  back  on  in  this  way  very  long.  I  will  leave  for  the  field 
in  a  few  days,  and  1  will  try  and  forget  her,  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  I  will  not  call  without  your  consent." 

"  0,  pshaw,"  said  I ;  "  I  am  not  in  love  with  the  girl,  Has 
tings,  and  I  don't  expect  to  be.  I  have  no  intention  of  marry 
ing,  and  I  don't  propose  to  interfere  with  you  in  the  least.  So 
go  ahead,  and  win  the  lady  if  you  can,  and  I  don't  doubt  but 
that  you  can,  if  you  only  try  hard  enough." 


A  PROPER  PHILOSOPHICAL   SPIRIT.  197 

"  No,"  said  Hastings,  "  I  don't  want  to  marry  any  girl  who 
don't  love  me,  or  who  has  a  fancy  for  another  fellow." 

"  Well,  any  how,"  I  replied,  "  it  is  kind  of  pleasant,  though, 
to  have  a  nice  place  to  pass  one's  leisure  hours  in,  and  you 
might  as  well  visit  Miss  M.,  even  if  you  choose  to  give  up 
the  idea  of  marrying  her,  as  there  is,  certainly,  no  necessity 
for  your  doing." 

THE  EXPENSIVENESS  OF  COURTSHIP. 

"But,"  said  Phil,  —  and  I  could  not  help  laughing  at  the 
sorrowful  energy  with  which  he  made  this  declaration,  —  "a 
fellow  has  to  make  a  girl  so  many  little  presents,  and  show  her 
so  many  attentions,  that  the  thing  gets  mighty  expensive,  un 
less  both  parties  mean  business.  It  takes  a  sight  of  trouble  to 
fet  into  the  good  graces  of  some  women,  and  then  they  are  so 
ckle  and  uncertain,  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  when  you  have 
them  safe. 

"  Why,"  said  he,  warming  with  his  subject,  "  women  have 
cost  me  a  small  fortune,  and  I  have  had  mighty  little  satisfac 
tion  with*  them ; "  and  then,  lapsing  into  a  reflective  mood, 
added,  "  Why  do  men  run  after  them,  any  how,  when  they  so 
often  regret  it  afterwards  ? "  This  was  a  conundrum,  for 
which  he,  apparently,  found  no  satisfactory  answer ;  for,  after 
a  moment's  pause,  he  said,  "  Well,  I  guess,  it  must  be  ordained, 
and  we'll  have  to  put  up  with  it." 

This,  I  thought,  was  showing  a  proper  philosophical  spirit, 
even  if  it  was  not  altogether  complimentary  to  my  sex ;  so  I 
said  "  Well.  Phil,  we  ought  not  to  complain  about  women 
being  what  they  are ;  we  must  always  remember  that  our 
mothers  were  women." 

This  appeared  to  touch  Phil  in  a  tender  place ;  for  he  said, 
in  a  softer  tone,  "  That's  so ;  and  God  Almighty  never  made 
anything  better  than  a  real  good  woman.  The-  good  ones  are 
better  than  the  best  of  us  men.  If  any  man  were  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  my  sister  I  would  kill  him." 

I  then  suggested  that  he  should  not  give  it  up  with  Miss  M. 
yet,  and  promised  to  aid  his  cause  with  her  as  best  I  could. 
The  result  was,  that  Hastings  was  feeling  a  good  deal  better 
at  the  close  of  the  conversation  than  at  the  beginning  of  it, 
and  his  little  disappointment  in  love  did  not  in  the  least  pre 
vent  him  from  eating,  and  evidently  enjoying  immensely,  a 
very  hearty  supper. 


198  A   VISIT   TO   THE   THEATRE. 

While  at  supper,  I  proposed  that  we  should  go  to  the  thea 
tre,  and  take  the  girls.  To  this  Phil  readily  assented,  and 
Bob  was  accordingly  despatched  with  an  invitation.  He 
soon  returned,  with  an  answer  to  the  effect  that  the  ladies 
would  be  most  happy  to  accompany  us. 

On  our  way  to  the  theatre,  Miss  M.  suggested  that  we  should 
have  our  pictures  taken,  and  gallantry  would  not  permit  me  to 
refuse.  So  I  made  an  engagement  with  her  for  the  next  day 
to  go  to  the  photographers.  I  had  not  seen  a  play  for  a  long 
time,  and  consequently  enjoyed  the  entertainment  immensely ; 
and  being  considerably  more  interested  in  it  than  in  the  young 
lady,  Phil  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  warmth  of  my 
attentions  to  her.  He  tried  to  take  advantage  of  the  occasion 
to  reinstate  himself  in  her  good  graces,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  he  did  not  make  much  headway,  and  Miss  M.,  much  to  his 
chagrin,  persisted  in  manifesting  a  decided  partiality  for  Lieu 
tenant  Buford. 

AN  ALARM. 

After  the  play  was  over  we  took  the  ladies  home ;  and  I 
said  good  night  to  Hastings,  who  started  for  camp,  while  I  re 
turned  to  the  hotel,  where  I  found  a  note  from  my  friend, 
Major  Bacon,  who  was  stopping  at  the  Commercial  Hotel.  I 
accordingly  went  to  call  on  him,  and  found  that  he  had  just 
arrived  from  New  Orleans.  This  made  me  feel  really  uneasy, 
and  I  was  not  a  little  alarmed  when  he  told  me  that  he  had 
heard  of  my  arrest  by  the  mayor.  I  was  a  trifle  reassured, 
however,  when  I  was  unable  to  notice  anything  in  his  speech 
or  manner  to  indicate  that  he  believed  me  to  be  a  woman  • 
and  to  quiet  any  suspicions  that  might  be  lurking  in  his  mind, 
I  said,  as  I  twisted  my  mustache,  and  put  on  all  the  swagger 
I  was  able,  "I  am  a  queer-looking  female,  ain't  I,  major?" 
And  then,  to  clinch  the  matter,  I  invited  him  to  take  a  drink. 

The  major  replied  "  Well,  you  might  manage  to  pass  for 
one,  if  you  were  to  put  on  petticoats ;  "  but,  rather  to  my 
astonishment,  he  did  not  seem  to  be  particularly  interested  in 
the  matter ;  and  as  I  was  not  especially  anxious  to  make  it  a 
.subject  for  conversation,  we  soon  began  to  talk  about  some 
thing  else. 

The  next  day,  in  accordance  with  my  promise,  I  went  to  the 
photographers  with  Miss  M.,  arid  we  had  our  pictures  taken, 
arid  made  an  exchange.  From  that  time,  up  to  the  date  of  my 
departure  from  Memphis,  I  was  an  almost  daily  visitor  at  her 


AT    CORINTH.  199 

house,  and  was  looked  upon  by  her  and  her  friends  as  an  ac 
cepted  lover,  although  I  certainly  was  not  as  explicit  in  my 
language  on  the  subject  of  matrimony  as  accepted  lovers  are 
usually  supposed  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  being.  On  the 
contrary,  I  tried  to  put  in  a  good  word  for  Phil  as  often  as  I 
could,  until  I  saw  that  it  was  no  use  pleading  for  him,  as  the 
}7oung  lady  seemed  to  have  taken  an  unconquerable  aversion 
to  him.  That  she  should  have  discarded  such  a  really  worthy 
fellow  for  me  was  a  source  of  serious  annoyance  to  me ;  and 
one  reason  why  I  kept  up  my  acquaintance  .with  her  was,  in 
the  hope  of  doing  him  a  service. 

At  length,  all  the  officers  in  Memphis  were  ordered  to  pro 
ceed  to  Corinth  without  delay,  and  then  every  one  knew  that 
a  big  battle  was  expected  to  come  off  shortly.  As  a  conse 
quence,  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed,  and  many  of  the 
officers  found  it  hard  work  parting  from  their  friends.  In  order 
to  avoid  a  scene  with  Miss  M.,  I  wrote  her  a  note,  bidding  her 
farewell,  which  was  not  to  be  delivered  until  after  I  left  the 
city ;  and,  jumping  aboard  the  train,  was  soon  on  my  way  to 
Corinth 

On  arriving  at  Corinth,  I  found  great  preparations  being 
made,  and  everything  nearly  ready  for  a  forward  movement. 
I  met  a  considerable  number  of  old  friends,  some  of  them  old 
Virginia  comrades,  whom  I  had  riot  seen  for  a  very  long  time. 
We  exchanged  very  cordial  greetings,  but  otherwise  we  had 
not  much  time  to  give  to  each  other,  they  having  important 
duties  to  perform,  while  I  was  eagerly  endeavoring  to  obtain 
some  official  position  that  would  enable  me  to  participate  in 
the  coming  fight  in  a  manner  advantageous  to  myself.  All 
the  commanding  officers,  however,  were  too  busy  just  then  to 
attend  to  me ;  and  so  I  resolved  to  follow  the  army  to  the 
field  in  my  independent  capacity,  and  take  my  chances  there. 

The  order  to  advance  being  given,  the  army  moved  out  of 
Corinth  in  the  direction  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  animated  by  the 
expectation  of  being  able  to  fall  upon  the  enemy,  and  deliver 
a  crushing  blow  at  a  moment  when  it  was  least  expected. 


CHAPTER    XYII. 


THE    BATTLE    OF    SHILOH. 

A  Surprise  upon  the  Federal  Army  at  Pittsburg  Landing  arranged.  —  A 
brilliant  Victory  expected.  —  I  start  for  the  Front,  and  encamp  for  the 
Night  at  Monterey.  —  My  Slumbers  disturbed  by  a  Rain-storm.  —  I 
find  General  Hardee  near  Shiloh  Church,  and  ask  Permission  to  take  a 
Hand  in  the  Fight.  —  The  Opening  of  the  Battle.  —  Complete  Surprise 
of  the  Federals.  —  I  see  my  Arkansas  Company,  and  join  it.  —  A  Lieu 
tenant  being  killed,  I  take  his  Place,  amid  a  hearty  Cheer  from  the  Men. 
—  A  Secret  revealed.  —  I  fight  through  the  Battle  under  the  Command 
of  my  Lover.  —  Furious  Assaults  on  the  Enemy's  Lines.  —  The  Bullets 
fly  thick  and  fast.  —  General  Albert  Sydney  Johnston  killed. —  End  of 
the  first  Day's  Battle,  and  Victory  for  the  Confederates.  —  Beauregard's 
Error  in  not  pursuing  his  Advantage.  —  I  slip  through  the  Lines  after 
Dark,  and  watch  what  is  going  on  at  Pittsburg  % Landing.  —  The  Gun 
boats  open  Fire.  —  Unpleasant  Effect  of  Shells  from  big  Guns.  —  Utter 
Demoralization  of  the  Federals.  —  Arrival  of  Buell  with  Re-enforce 
ments.  —  General  Grant  and  another  general  Officer  pass  near  me  in  a 
Boat,  and  I  am  tempted  to  take  a  Shot  at  them.  —  I  return  to  Camp, 
and  wish  to  report  what  I  had  seen  to  General  Bureaugard,  but  am  dis 
suaded  from  doing  so  by  my  Captain.  —  Uneasy  Slumbers.  —  Com 
mencement  of  the  second  Day's  Fight.  —  The  Confederates  unable  to 
contend  with  the  Odds  against  them.  —  A  lost  Opportunity.  —  The 
Confederates  defeated,  and  compelled  to  retire  from  the  Field. —  I 
remain  in  the  Woods  near  the  Battle-field  all  Night. 

ORT  DONELSON  was  to  be  avenged. 
After  the  capture  of  that  position,  the 
Federals  had  swept  in  triumph  through 
Tennessee,  the  Confederates  having 
been  compelled  to  abandon  theirlines  in 
that  state  and  in  Kentucky,  and  to  seek 
a  new  base  of  operations  farther  south. 
The  Federals  were  now  concentrating 
in  great  force  at  Pittsburg  Landing, 
on  the  Tennessee  River,  their  imme 
diate  object  of  attack  evidently  being 
Corinth,  and  General  Albert  Sydney 
Johnston,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
entire  Confederate  army,  resolved 
upon  striking  a  vigorous  blow  at  once,  with  a  view  of  turning 
the  tide  of  victory  in  our  favor  before  the  enemy  were  as- 

200 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  AN  ATTACK.  201 

sembled  in  such  strength  as  to  make  it  imperative  for  us  to 
act  upon  the  defensive,  and  to  fight  behind  our  intrench- 
ments.  The  experiences  of  more  than  one  well-fought  field 
had  shown  how  well  nigh  irresistible  the  Confederate  soldiers 
were  in  making  an  attack,  and  the  general  knew  that  it  would 
be  necessary  for  him  to  be  the  assailant,  if  he  expected  to  get 
all  the  work  out  of  his  men  they  were  able  to  do. 

The  reports  which  we  received  from  our  scouts,  and  from 
the  country  people,  indicated  either  that  the  Federals  were 
unaware  of  the  strength  of  the  Confederates  in  their  imme 
diate  neighborhood,  or  else  that,  flushed  with  victory,  they 
were  over-confident,  and  were  taking  comparatively  few  pre 
cautions  against  a  surprise.  These  things  were  the  common 
talk  of  the  Confederates  for  days  before  the  battle  took  place ; 
and  while  not  a  little  astonishment  was  expressed  at  the 
temerity  of  the  enemy,  considerable  jubilation  was  felt  at  the 
idea  of  our  being  able  to  gain  a  comparatively  easy  victory, 
which  would  put  an  end  to  the  invasion,  or  at  least  so  stagger 
the  Federals,  that  subsequent  operations  against  them  would 
be  unattended  with  any  great  difficulties. 

A  SURPRISE  IN  PREPARATION. 

We  all  knew  that  a  surprise  was  to  be  attempted,  and  all 
felt  confident  of  its  success,  although  some  hard  fighting  was 
expected  before  the  rout  of  the  Federals  could  be  achieved. 
Hard  fighting,  however,  was  something  from  which  the  Con 
federate  soldiers  did  not  shrink  at  any  time,  and  on  this 
occasion  every  one  was  anxious  to  repair  the  disaster  of  Fort 
Donelson,  and  to  teach  the  enemy  a  lesson  they  would  not  be 
likely  to  forget  in  a  hurry. 

At  the  prospect  of  a  battle,  and  especially  of  a  battle  in 
which  the  chances  of  winning  a  brilliant  victory  would  be  on 
the  side  of  the  Confederates,  I  was  as  eager  to  participate, 
notwithstanding  the  severity  of  my  recent  experiences,  as  I 
was  the  first  time  I  faced  the  enemy.  If  I  thought  of  Fort 
Donelson,  and  the  retreat  of  Johnston's  army  after  the  fall  of 
that  position,  it  was  only  with  a  desire  to  be  revenged  for  the 
sufferings  my  brave  comrades  and  myself  had  endured,  and 
my  thoughts  rather  turned  to  Bull  Run  and  Ball's  Bluff, 
where  Southern  valor  had  so  signally  displayed  itself,  and 
where  I  had  assisted  in  defeating  the  enemy,  and  in  sending 
them  flying,  a  routed  and  panic-stricken  mob,  from  the  field. 


202  DISTUEBED   SLUMBERS. 

My  love  for  such  excitement  as  only  a  great  battle  can  give, 
too,  overpowered  all  lesser  emotions,  and  my  mortification  at 
the  indignities  I  had  endured  at  the  hands  of  Mayor  Monroe 
and  his  satellites  in  New  Orleans,  was  overcome  by  the 
thought  that,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  I  was  a  woman,  I 
was  as  good  a  soldier  as  any  man  around  me,  and  as  willing 
as  any  to  fight  valiantly  and  to  the  bitter  end  before  yielding. 
The  fighting  blood  of  my  ancestor,  old  Governor  Don  Diego, 
was  making  itself  felt  in  my  veins  as  I  prepared  to  follow 
Hardee's  corps  to  the  scene  of  action  with  all  possible  expe 
dition. 

OFF  FOR  THE  FIELD. 

Obtaining  a  pass  from  the  provost  marshal,  I  put  my  tent 
in  an  army  wagon,  and  then  Bob  and  I  mounted  our  horses 
and  started  for  the  field,  on  Saturday,  April  5,  1862.  The 
roads  were  in  a  horrible  condition  from  the  heavy  spring  rains, 
and  we  made  rather  slow  progress,  —  much  too  slow  for  my 
impatient  spirit,  —  and  I  was  very  tired  when,  at  nightfall,  I 
reached  a  village  of  half  a  dozen  scattered  houses  called 
Monterey,  about  half  way  between  Corinth  and  Shilbh  Church, 
a  little  Methodist  meeting-house,  just  outside  the  Federal 
picket  lines. 

It  was  necessary  for  me  to  halt  here  until  morning ;  so,  ob 
taining  sufficient  forage  for  my  horse  from  a  Mississippi  regi 
ment,  I  prepared  to  camp  for  the  night,  and  hoped  to  get  a 
sound  sleep,  to  fit  me  for  the  hot  work  of  the  next  day. 

THE  NIGHT  BEFORE  THE  BATTLE  OF  SHILOH. 

My  animals  having  been  fed,  I  took  off  the  saddles,  and 
raking  up  a  quantity  of  leaves,  arranged  my  bed  by  spreading 
a  saddle  blanket  to  lie  upon,  and  placing  a  saddle  for  a  pillow. 
Then  throwing  myself  on  this  extemporized  couch,  I  wrapped 
myself  in  an  army  blanket,  and  was  soon  lost  in  slumber  as 
profound  as  would  have  visited  me  had  my  accommodations 
been  of  the  most  luxurious  description. 

I  was  not  destined,  however,  to  have  a  quiet,  uninterrupted 
slumber,  such  as  I  needed,  for  ere  long  I  was  awakened  by 
the  rain,  which  began  to  fall  in  torrents,  and  which  compelled 
me  to  seek  some  more  sheltered  spot  in  which  to  finish  the 
night.  My  first  care  was  for  my  horse,  and  covering  him  well 
with  the  blanket,  I  went  as  fast  as  I  could  to  one  of  the  de- 


THE   FEDEKALS   SURPRISED.  203 

serted  houses  of  the  village,  and  stopped  there  until  the  rain 
was  over. 

It  was  quite  three  o'clock  before  the  shower  ceased,  and  it 
was  high  time  for  me  to  be  moving  if  I  expected  to  take  part 
in  the  opening  of  the  battle,  as  1  was  exceedingly  anxious  to 
do.  I  therefore  ordered  the  horses  to  be  saddled,  and  was  in 
a  few  moments  ready  to  start.  A  soldier  very  generously 
offered  me  a  cup  of  army  coffee,  which,  although  perhaps  it 
was  not  quite  equal  in  strength  and  flavor  to  some  I  had 
tasted' in  the  best  hotels,  was  swallowed  with  great  relish,  and 
with  many  benedictions  on  the  giver,  whose  courtesy  I  re 
warded  by  a  good-sized  drink  of  brandy,  from  a  flask  I  carried 
for  the  benefit  of  my  friends.  His  eyes  fairly  sparkled  with 
delight  as  he  gulped  it  down,  and  he  smacked  his  lips  as  if  he 
had  not  had  such  a  treat  for  many  a  day.  Then  mounting  my 
horse,  I  set  off  at  a  smart  pace  for  General  Hardee's  head 
quarters. 

I  found  the  general  stationed  near  Shiloh  Church,  and  rode 
up -and  saluted  him  just  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse.  Show 
ing  him  my  pass,  I  said  that  I  wanted  to  have  a  hand  in  this 
affair.  Hardee  looked  at  the  pass,  and  replied,  "  All  right ; 
fall  in,  and  well  see  what  can  be  done  for  you." 

COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  FIGHT. 

The  fighting  had  already  commenced  between  the  skir 
mish  lines  of  the  two  armies  while  I  was  conversing  with 
the  general,  and  the  troops  were  hurrying  forward  to  attack 
the  Federals  before  they  could  gain  time  to  prepare  them 
selves  for  an  effective  resistance. 

In  obedience  to  Hardee's  command,  I  fell  in  with  his  men,  and 
we  advanced  briskly  upon  the  enemy's  camp.  It  was  a  complete 
surprise  in  every  respect.  Many  of  the  enemy  were  only  half 
dressed,  and  were  obliged  to  snatch  up  the  first  weapons  that 
came  to  hand  as  the  Confederates  rushed  out  of  the  woods 
upon  them.  The  contest  was  brief-  and  decisive,  and  in  a  few 
moments  such  of  the  enemy  as  escaped  the  deadly  volleys 
which  we  poured  into  them  were  scampering  away  as  fast  as 
their  legs  could  carry  them.  We  took  possession  of  their 
camp,  with  all  its  equipage,  almost  without  resistance,  and  I 
thought  that  this  was  an  excellent  good  beginning  of  the 
day's  work,  especially  as  I  had  the  pleasure  of  eating  a  cap 
ital  hot  breakfast,  which  had  been  prepared  for  some  Federal 


204  MEETING   OLD   FRIENDS   ON  THE  BATTLE-FIELD. 

officer.  I  enjoyed  it  immensely,  for  I  was  decidedly  hungry 
after  my  early  morning  march,  the  cup  of  coffee  tendered  by 
my  soldier  friend  not  having  proved  as  satisfactory  as  some 
thing  more  substantial  might  have  done. 

I  had  scarcely  finished  eating  when  I  came  across  General 
Hardee  again.  He  was  in  a  high  good  humor  at  the  course 
events  had  taken  thus  far,  and  said  to  me,  in  a  jocular  sort  of 
way,  "  Well,  lieutenant,  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

I  replied  that  I  was  anxious  to  do  my  share  of  the  fighting, 
and  wanted  to  be  stationed  where  there  was  plenty  of 
work  to  be  done. 

The  general  laughed  a  little  at  my  enthusiasm,  but  just  then 
his  attention  was  called  away  for  a  moment,  and  I,  glancing 
down  the  line,  spied  the  Arkansas  boys  whom  I  had  enlisted 
at  Hurlburt  Station  nearly  a  year  before.  I  was  immediately 
seized  with  a  desire  to  go  into  the  fight  with  them ;  so  I  said, 
"  Ah,  there  is  my  old  company,  general ;  with  your  permis 
sion,  I  will  see  the  captain.  Perhaps  he  can  give  me  a 
chance." 

I  REJOIN  MY  ARKANSAS  BOYS. 

Hardee  nodded  an  assent,  and,  giving  him  a  salute,  I  started 
off  at  full  speed  to  the  rear,  where  I  got  my  commission  out 
of  my  pocket,  and  then  darted  along  the  line,  closely  followed 
by  Bob,  my  idea  being  to  avoid  being  stopped  by  giving  the 
impression  that  I  was  bearing  an  order  from  the  general. 
Dismounting  from  my  horse,  I  forced  my  way  through  the 
ranks  until  I  reached  Captain  De  Caulp,  who  shook  me  heartily 
by  the  hand,  and  was  evidently  delighted  to  see  me,  as  we 
had  not  met  since  I  parted  from  him  in  Pensacola  the  previous 
June,  when  starting  for  Richmond.  My  pleasure  at  the  inter 
view,  especially  at  meeting  him  again  under  such  circum 
stances  as  those  I  am  describing,  was  of  a  very  different  and 
much  more  intense  kind  than  his,  for  reasons  that  will  appear 
hereafter. 

It  was  no  time  then,  however,  to  exchange  compliments,  for 
there  was  hot  work  before  us  if  the  brilliant  successes  of  the 
first  assaults  upon  the  Federal  position  were  to  be  followed 
up  to  a  satisfactory  issue.  I  therefore  told  Captain  De  Caulp 
that  I  was  anxious  to  have  a  hand  in  the  fight,  and  especially 
to  go  into  the  thing  with  this  .company,  if  it  could  be  per 
mitted,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  not  assign  me  to  some  duty. 
I  spoke  in  such  a  way,  and  in  a  sufficiently,  loud  tone  for  the 


THAT   LITTLE   DANDY.  205 

other  officers  and  the  men  to  understand  that  I  belonged  to 
the  special  corps,  and  was  doing  a  share  of  the  fighting  just 
for  the  love  of  the  thing.  Some  of  them  evidently  did  not 
know  who  I  was,  and  were  inclined  to  regard  me  as  an  in 
truder  ;  for  I  heard  a  soldier  behind  me  say,  "  What  little 
dandy  is  that?"  Some  one  replied,  "Why,  don't  you  know? 
That's  the  fellow  that  raised  the  company,"  —  a  bit  of  infor 
mation  that  undoubtedly  raised  me  immensely  in  the  estima 
tion  of  the  interrogator,  as  well  as  in  that  of  others  who  had 
joined  the  company  since  I  had  left  it. 

AMONG  OLD  FRIENDS. 

Notwithstanding  the  number  of  strange  faces  that  met  my  eyes 
as  I  glanced  along  the  ranks,  I  saw  enough  old  acquaintances  to 
make  me  feel  very  much  at  home,  and  I  was  delighted  beyond 
measure  in  an  opportunity  to  take  part  in  a  great  battle  along 
with  my  own  company  that  I  had  raised  over  in  the  Arkansas 
swamp,  that  I  had  marched  through  New  Orleans  and  Mobile 
in  such  gallant  style,  and  that  I  had  so  astonished  my  late 
husband  by  appearing  in  Pensacola  at  the  head  of,  and  re 
solved  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  them,  and  to  show  that, 
even  if  I  was  a  little  dandy,  I  was  as  good  a  soldier  as  the 
best  of  them  when  any  hard  fighting  was  to  be  done.  In 
deed,  all  the  circumstances  were  such  as  to  inspire  me  to  dis 
tinguish  myself  by  some  unusually  gallant  action,  and  I 
resolved  that,  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so,  the  occasion  should 
be  made  a  memorable  one  for  us  all. 

Captain  De  Caulp  told  me  to  remain  with  him,  and  to  wait 
and  see  what  would  happen  for  my  advantage ;  for  as  some 
desperate  fighting  was  yet  to  be  done,  there  would  very 
probably  be  some  need  of  my  services  before  the  battle  was 
over.  In  the  mean  time,  and  until  there  was  a  special  call 
upon  me,  I  could  fight  on  my  own  hook,  or  act  as  a  sort  of  aid 
to  him.  He  then  sent  his  orderly  to  the  rear  with  the  boy 
Bob  and  the  horses,  with  directions  to  conduct  them  to  the 
camp. 

Glancing  over  the  field,  I  saw  the  eleventh  Louisiana  regi 
ment,  with  a  friend  of  mine,  and  a  brave  officer,  Colonel 
Sam.  Marks,  at  its  head,  going  for  the  enemy  in  gallant 
style,  and  in  a  short  time  the  order  came  for  us  to  advance. 
I  was  all  oak,  as  the  boys  would  say,  and  there  was  not  upon 
the  whole  field  a  prouder  or  more  determined  upholder  of  the 


206  REAL   ROMANCE. 

fortunes  of  the  Confederacy,  or  one  who  was  more  bent  upon 
retrieving  past  disasters,  and  of  inflicting  upon  the  Federals  a 
blow  from  which  they  would  not  be  able  to  recover,  than 
myself.  I  considered  it  a  rare  piece  of  good  fortune  that  I 
was  able  to  take  part  in  what  all  hoped  and  expected  would 
be  a  decisive  battle  with  my  own  company,  —  as  fine  a  body 
of  men  as  were  in  the  field,  —  and  there  were  special  reasons 
for  feelings  of  jubilation  at  the  idea  of  being  permitted  to 
fight  by  the  side  of  Captain  De  Caulp. 

THE  SECRET  OUT. 

The  secret  might  as  well  be  told  now  as  at  any  other  time, 
I  suppose ;  so  the  reader  will  please  know  that  Captain  De 
Caulp  and  I  were  under  an  engagement  of  marriage,  having 
been  in  correspondence  with  each  other  since  my  departure 
from  Pensacola.  I  had  his  letters  in  my  breast  pocket,  and 
his  photograph  in  the  lining  of  my  coat,  while,  I  doubt  not, 
that  he  had  about  him  memorials  of  my  unworthy  self;  and  if 
he  cared  as  much  for  me  as  I  was  led  to  believe  he  did  by  the 
fervency  of  his  epistles,  I  was  the  especial  object  of  his 
thoughts  when,  in  obedience  to  the  command  to  advance,  we 
dashed  at  the  enemy.  He  little  suspected,  however,  that  the 
woman  to  whom  his  heart  and  hand  were  pledged  was  by  his 
side  as  he  led  his  men  into  that  bloody  fray ;  for,  as  I  have 
before  explained,  he  had  an  acquaintance  with  me  both  as"  a 
woman  and  as  a  man,  but  did  not  know  that  the  two  were  the 
same. 

AN  INSPIRING  SITUATION. 

The  situation  was  a  singularly  inspiring  one  for  me,  as  may 
readily  be  imagined;  it  was,  in  fact,  such  a  situation  as  I 
doubt  whether  any  woman  had  ever  been  placed  in  before ; 
and  yet  it  seemed  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  I 
should  be  there,  and  that  I  should  try  to  distinguish  myself 
by  deeds  of  valor,  for  the  sake  of  winning  the  approving 
smile  of  the  man  who,  of  all  others,  I  was  anxious  should  give 
me  his  approbation.. 

It  may  be  thought  that,  even  if  I  felt  no  fear  for  myself,  as 
a  woman  I  should  have  had  some  tremors  when  beholding  my 
lover  advancing  into  the  thick  of  a  desperate  fight,  at  the 
head  of  his  men.  The  idea  of  fear,  either  on  his  or  on  my 
own  account,  however,  never  occurred  to  me  at  the  time, 


208  A  DESPERATE  STRUGGLE. 

although,  on  reflecting  over  the  matter  afterwards,  it  struck 
me  that  some  slight  emotion  of  that  kind  would  perhaps  have 
been  proper  under  the  circumstances.  We  cannot  think  of 
everything  at  once,  however;  and  just  at  that  time  I  was 
intent  only  on  defeating  the  enemy  before  me,  and  proving 
myself  a  good  fighter  in  the  eyes  of  Captain  I)e  Caulp  and 
his  command.  As  for  him,  I  desired  for  his  sake,  even  more 
ardently  than  on  my  own  account,  that  the  occasion  should  be 
a  glorious  one,  and  I  had  a  strange  delight  in  following  him 
into  the  thickest  of  the  melee,  and  in  watching  with  what 
undaunted  spirit  he  bore  himself  throughout  the  long  and 
sternly-fought  battle. 

We  had  not  been  long  engaged  before  the  second  lieutenant 
of  the  company  fell.  I  immediately  stepped  into  his  place, 
and  assumed  the  command  of  his  men.  This  action  was 
greeted  by  a  hearty  cheer  from  the  entire  company,  all  the 
veterans  of  which,  of  course,  knew  me,  and  I  took  the  greet 
ing  as  an  evidence  that  they  were  glad  to  see  their  original 
commander  with  them  once  more,  and  evidently  anxious  to  do 
a  full  share  of  the  heavy  job  of  work  that  was  to  be  done 
before  the  field  could  be  ours.  This  cheer  from  the  men  was 
an  immense  inspiration  to  me  ;  and  the  knowledge,  that  not  my 
lover  only,  but  the  company  which  I  had  myself  recruited, 
and  thousands  of  others  of  the  brave  boys  of  our  Southern 
army  were  watching  my  actions  approvingly,  encouraged  me 
to  dare  everything,  and  to  shrink  from  nothing  to  render 
myself  deserving  of  their  praises. 

,  A  FURIOUS  ASSAULT. 

Our  assaults  upon  the  enemy  were  made  with  irresistible 
fury,  and  we  rushed  through  their  lines,  literally  mowing 
them  down  like  grain  before  the  mowing  machine.  It  was 
grander  fighting  than  I  had  ever  witnessed  before,  surpassing 
even  the  great  sortie  at  Fort  Donelson  in  desperateness  and 
inspirational  qualities.  The  bullets  whistled  through  the  air 
thick  and  fast,  cutting  the  trees,  and  making  the  branches 
snap  and  fly,  splintering  the  fence  rails,  striking  the  wagons, 
or  sending  some  poor  soldier  suddenly  to  the  earth.  A  cor 
poral  who  was  by  my  side  was  shot  through  the  heart  by  a 
Minie  ball.  He  fell  heavily  against  me,  and  all  my  clothing 
was  reddened  by  his  blood.  His  only  words  were,  "  Damn 
the  Yankees  !  they  have  killed  me."  He  was  a  very  hand- 


CONFEDERATE   SUCCESS.  209 

some  young  man,  only  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  his 
death  perfectly  infuriated  me,  as  it  did  his  other  comrades. 

The  Federals  never  succeeded  in  recovering  from  the  sur 
prise  of  the  morning ;  and  although  they  stood  their  ground 
most  stubbornly  in  some  places,  their  entire  line  was  grad 
ually  driven  back  towards  the  Landing,  and  each  succeeding 
hour  of  the  fight  made  their  total  defeat  more  of  a  certainty 
than  ever. 

* 

GENERAL  ALBERT  SYDNEY  JOHNSTON  KILLED. 

Shortly  before  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  our  com- 
mander-in-chief,  General  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  was  num 
bered  among  the  slain.  His  death,  however,  was  carefully 
concealed  from  the  army,  and  was  known  to  but  few  until  the 
battle  was  over.  He  was  a  great  soldier,  arid  his  loss  was  an 
irreparable  one ;  for  had  he  lived  to  superintend  the  conduct 
of  the  battle  to  the  end,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  he  would 
have  failed  to  push  his  advantages  to  the  utmost,  or  that  he 
would  have  committed  the  mistakes  which  turned  a  brilliant 
and  decisive  victory  into  an  overwhelming  and  most  maddening 
defeat. 

CLOSE  OF  THE  FIRST  DAY'S  BATTLE. 

When  the  sun  set  that  day  the  Confederates  were  success 
ful  at  every  point,  and  although  they  had  suffered  terribly, 
they  had  forced  the  enemy's  lines  back  almost  to  the  Landing, 
so  that  there  was  nothing  now  left  them  to  do  but  to  make  a 
final  successful  stand,  or  else  be  crowded  over  the  bluffs  into 
the  river,  just  as  I  had  seen  them  crowded,  six  months  before, 
at  Ball's  Bluff.  That  they  could  have  made  a- final  effective 
resistance,  had  the  Confederates  finished  the  day's  work  in 
the  spirit  they  had  begun  it,  was  scarcely  within  the  range 
of  possibility ;  and  I  confidently  expected,  as  the  daylight 
declined  in  the  sky,  to  witness  a  repetition,  on  a  larger  scale, 
of  all  the  horrors  of  the  Ball's  Bluff  battle.  There  was  abso 
lutely  no  escape  for  the  Federals ;  and  their  only  hope  was  to 
hold  their  last  rallying  ground,  and  to  gain  time  until  the 
arrival  of  re-enforcements,  which  would  enable  them  to  re 
cover  their  lost  ground,  and  to  assume  the  offensive  against 
our  victorious,  but  worn  and  shattered  army.  Why  the  Con 
federate  advantages  were  not  pushed  that  night,  before 
General  Bueil  could  arrive  with  his  fresh  troops,  and  the 
14 


210  A   PERILOUS   ENTERPRISE. 

Federal  army  either  captured  or  annihilated,  as  it  assuredly 
would  have  been,  was  a  mystery  to  me  then,  and  is  now. 

During  the  afternoon,  I  succeeded  in  gaining  a  good  deal 
of  very  important  information  from  several  prisoners,  and  par 
ticularly  from  a  sergeant  belonging  to  the  twenty-seventh 
Illinois  regiment.  I  did  this  by  inducing  him  to  believe  that 
I  was  only  in  the  Confederate  army  under  compulsion,  and 
that  I  intended  to  desert  at  the  first  opportunity.  I  got  out 
of  him  pretty  much  everything  he  knew  about  the  Federal 
situation,  who  the  different  commanders  were,  and  even  how 
the  forces  were  posted ;  and,  in  full  confidence  that  all  I  told 
him  was  the  literal  truth,  he  took  out  his  diary  and  wrote  a 
short  note  to  his  colonel,  which  he  intrusted  to  me  to  deliver 
for  him.  From  this  prisoner  I  learned  how  desperate  were 
the  straits  of  the  enemy,  and  how  anxiously  they  were  await 
ing  the  arrival  of  Buell  with  re-enforcements,  and  I  was,  con 
sequently,  in  despair,  for  I  saw  our  brilliant  victory  already 
slipping  from  us,  when  General  Beauregard,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  to  the  command  after  the  death  of  Johnston,  issued  the 
order  from  his  headquarters  at  the  little  Shiloh  church,  for  us 
to  halt  in  our  advance,  and  to  sleep  on  our  arms  all  night,  in 
stead  of  pursuing  the  routed  enemy,  and  compelling  them 
either  to  surrender  or  to  take  to  the  river,  as  we  compelled 
them  to  do  at  Ball's  Bluff. 

A  FATAL  MISTAKE. 

When  I  heard  Beauregard's  order,  I  felt  that  a  fatal  mistake 
was  being  committed  j  and,  in  utter  desperation  at  the  very 
thought  of  losing  on  the  morrow  all  that  we  had  gained  by  the 
most  determined  and  desperate  fighting  through  that  long  and 
bloody  day,  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  making  an 
effort  to  find  out  for  myself  exactly  what  the  situation  within 
the  enemy's  lines  really  was,  and  was  willing  to  run  all  the 
risks  of  being  caught  and  shot  as  a  spy,  rather  than  to  endure 
the  suspense  of  a  long  night  of  uncertainty. 

My  station  was  with  the  advanced  picket  line,  I  having  per 
suaded  the  captain  to  post  me  in  a  manner  most  favorable  for 
carrying  out  my  designs.  I  did  not  dare  to  tell  him  all  I  pro 
posed  to  do,  for  fear  that  he  would  consider  it  his  duty  to  pre 
vent  me,  but  gave  him  to  understand  that  I  intended,  under 
cover  of  the  darkness,  to  creep  up  as  close  as  I  could,  with 
safety,  to  the  Federal  lines,  with  a  view  of  trying  to  find  out 


FEDERALS   DEMORALIZED.  211 

something  concerning  their  movements.  He  hesitated  some 
what  at  even  permitting  me  to  do  this  much  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  colonel,  but  finally  gave  a  tacit  consent.  I 
also  refrained  from  telling  my  full  design  to  my  immediate 
companion  of  the  picket  station,  and  made  up  a  story  about 
my  intentions,  which  I  thought  would  keep  him  quiet,  and 
also  promised  to  give  him  a  drink  of  good  whiskey  when  I  got 
back  if  he  would  mind  his  own  business  and  not  attempt  to 
interfere  with  me. 

I  MAKE  A  RECONNOISSANCE. 

I  accordingly  stole  away,  and  creeping  as  noiselessly  as  I 
possibly  could  through  the  underbrush,  approached  the  Land 
ing.  The  command  of  General  Wallace  was  stationed  at  this 
end  of  the  Federal  line,  and  I  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
get  past  his  pickets,  being  compelled  to  pause  very  frequently, 
and  to  keep  close  to  the  ground,  watching  favorable  oppor 
tunities  for  advancing  from  one  point  to  another.  I  finally, 
however,  did  manage  to  get  past  them,  and  gained  a  tolerably 
good  point  of  observation  near  the  river,  where  I  could  see 
quite  plainly  what  was  going  on  at  the  Landing. 

It  was  just  as  I  had  anticipated.  The  Federals  were  crowd 
ing  about  the  Landing  in  utter  disorder,  and  were  without  any 
means  of  crossing  the  river.  They  were  completely  in  a  trap, 
and  so  evidently  keenly  appreciated  the  fact,  that  the  capture 
of  the  entire  army  ought  to  have  been  an  easy  matter.  One 
more  grand  charge  along  the  entire  line,  in  the  same  brilliant 
fashion  that  we  had  opened  the  battle,  and  every  officer  and 
man  on  this  side  of  the  river  would  either  have  been  slain  or 
taken  prisoner,  while  we  would  have  gained  possession  of  the 
Landing,  and  have  prevented  any  of  the  expected  re-enforce 
ments  from  crossing. 

BEAUREGARD'S  MISTAKE. 

At  this  moment,  I  felt  that  if  I  could  only  command  our  army 
for  two  good  hours  I  would  be  willing  to  die  the  moment  the 
victory  was  won,  while  it  maddened  me  to  think  that  our  com 
mander  should  have  permitted  such  an  opportunity  for  inflict 
ing  a  perfectly  crushing  defeat  on  the  enemy  to  pass  by  unim 
proved.  Beauregard,  certainly,  could  not  have  understood  the 
situation,  or  he  would  inevitably  have  pursued  his  advantage  ; 


212  THE   GUNBOATS   OPEN   FIRE. 

and  yet  I  could  not  understand  how  he  could  help  knowing, 
not  only  that  the  Federals  were  in  desperate  straits,  but  that 
fresh  troops  were  hurrying  to  their  assistance,  and  that  in  the 
morning  the  battle  would,  assuredly,  be  resumed  with  the 
odds  all  in  their  favor. 

ARRIVAL  OF  FEDERAL  RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 

While  I  was  watching  and  chafing  under  the  blunder  that  I 
was  sure  had  been  committed,  a  steamboat  with  re-enforce 
ments  arrived  at  the  Landing.  These  fresh  troops  were  imme 
diately  formed,  and  despatched  to  the  front.  Another  detach 
ment  came,  before  I  withdrew,  overwhelmed  with  grief  and 
disgust  at  the  idea  of  our  victory  coming  to  nothing,  simply 
because  there  was  not  the  requisite  energy  at  headquarters 
to  strike  the  final  blow  that  was  needed,  in  order  that  our 
hard  fighting  might  have  its  proper  reward. 

There  was,  evidently,  somebody  on  the  Federal,  side  who 
was  bent  on  retrieving  the  disaster ;  for  the  hurried  movements 
of  the  new  troops,  and  the  constant  firing  which  the  two  gun 
boats  —  Tyler  and  Lexington  —  kept  up,  indicated  an  aggres 
siveness  that  augured  unfavorably  for  our  tired  and  badly  cut-up 
army  when  the  fight  should  re-open  in  the  morning.  The  two 
gunboats  had  moved  up  to  the  mouth  of  Lick  Creek,  and  about 
dark  commenced  throwing  shells  into  our  lines  in  a  manner 
that  was  anything  but  agreeable,  and  that  demoralized  our  men 
more  than  any  kind  of  attack  they  had  been  compelled  to  stand 
up  under.  I  had  been  under  musketry  and  artillery  fire  a 
number  of  times,  and  did  not  find  the  sharp  hiss  of  the  bullets, 
or  the  scream  of  the  shells,  particularly  pleasant.  There  was 
something  horrible,  however,  about  the  huge  missiles  hurled 
by  the  gunboats,  and  they  excited  far  more  disagreeable  sen 
sations  than  either  musket  or  rifle  bullets,  or  the  favors  which 
the  field  artillerists  were  in  the  habit  of  bestowing.  These 
shells  could  easily  be  seen  in  the  air  for  some  seconds,  and 
each  individual  that  beheld  them  had  an  uncomfortable  feeling 
that  they  were  aiming  directly  at  him,  with  a  strong  prob 
ability  of  striking.  Sometimes  they  burst  in  the  air,  scatter 
ing  in  every  direction  ;  oftener  they  burst  just  as  they  struck, 
and  the  pieces  inflicted  ugly  wounds  if  they  happened  to  hit 
anybody,  and  occasionally  they  would  bury  themselves  in  the 
ground,  and  then  explode,  tearing  holes  large  enough  to  bury 
a  cart  and  horse  in. 


DODGING  THE  SHELLS.  213 

There  was  something  almost  comical  in  the* way  the  soldiers, 
who  had  fought,  without  flinching,  for  hours  in  the  face  of  a 
terrific  artillery  and  musketry  fire,  attempted  to  dodge  these 
shells.  The  hideous  screams  uttered  by  them,  just  before  strik 
ing,  seeming  to  drive  all  the  courage  out  of  the  hearts  of  those 
against  whom  they  were  directed.  Facing  this  kind  of  attack, 
without  being  able  in  any  way  to  reply  to  it,  was  much  more 
trying  than  the  toughest  fighting ;  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  gunners  on  board  the  boats  kept  up  their  fire  about  dusk, 
undoubtedly  had  a  great  effect 'in  checking  the  Confederate's 
advance,  and  in  saving  the  badly-beaten  Federal  army  from 
utter  rout. 

During  the  whole  of  the  night  the  Tyler  and  Lexington 
threw  their  shells  steadily,  and  at  frequent  intervals,  in  the 
direction  of  our  army ;  but  now  that  the  fighting  'was  over, 
and  our  men  were  trying  to  rest  for  the  work  of  the  morrow, 
it  was  comparatively  easy  to  keep  out  of  their  way,  and  they 
consequently  did  not  do  much  damage.  A  heavy  rain  storm, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  had  much  more  to  do  with  making 
the  situation  an  unpleasant  one  than  the  firing  from  the  gun 
boats,  as  it  drenched  every  one  to  the  skin,  and  seriously  dis 
turbed  the  slumbers  of  the  wearied  soldiers. 

GENERAL  GRANT'S  PERIL. 

While  surveying,  from  my  post  of  observation  in  the  bushes, 
the  movements  of  the  routed  Federal  troops  at  the  Landing, 
a  small  boat,  with  two  officers  in  it,  passed  up  the  river.  As 
it  drew  near  the  place  where  I  was  concealed,  I  recognized 
one  of  the  officers  as  General  Grant,  and  the  other  one  I  knew 
by  his  uniform  to  be  a  general.  Grant  I  had  seen  at  Fort 
Donelson,  and  I  had  met  with  pictures  of  him  in  some  of  the 
illustrated  papers,  so  that  I  had  no  trouble  in  knowing  him  in 
spite  of  the  darkness.  The  boat  passed  so  close  to  me  that  I 
could  occasionally  catch  a  word  or  two  of  the  conversation  that 
was  passing  between  the  Federal  commander  and  his  associ 
ate,  although,  owing  to  the  splashing  of  the  oars,  and  the 
other  noises,  I  could  not  detect  what  they  were  talking  about. 

My  heart  began  to  beat  violently  when  I  saw  Grant,  and 
my  hand  instinctively  grasped  my  revolver.  Both  he,  and  the 
officer  with  him,  were  completely  at  my  mercy,  for  they  were 
within  easy  pistol  shot,  and  my  first  impulse  was  to  kill  them, 
and  run  the  risk  of  all  possible  consequences  to  myself.  I  did 


214  GRANT'S  NARROW  ESCAPE. 

even  go  so  far  as  to  take  a  good  aim,  and  in  a  second  more, 
had  I  been  a  little  firmer-nerved,  the  great  Federal  general, 
and  the  future  President  of  the  United  States,  would  have 
finished  his  career. 

It  was  too  much  like  murder,  however,  and  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  do  the  deed,  although  it  would  have  been  as 
justifiable  as  any  killing  that  takes  place  in  warfare.  Any 
soldier,  however,  will  appreciate  iny  feelings ;  for  those  who 
are  bravest,  when  standing  face  to  face  with  the  enemy,  will 
hesitate  to  take  deliberate  ami.  at  a  single  man  from  an  am 
bush.  I  therefore  permitted  Grant  to  escape,  although  I 
knew  it  was  better  for  my  cause  to  slay  him  than  would  be  the 
loss  of  many  hundreds  less  important  soldiers.  Indeed,  had 
Grant  fallen  before  my  pistol,  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh  might 
have  had  a  far  different  termination ;  for  his  loss  would  have 
so  completed  the  demoralization  of  the  Federals,  that  another 
rally  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  an  impossibility.  To 
have  shot  him,  as  I  at  first  intended  to  do,  would  almost  cer 
tainly  have  insured  my  own  destruction ;  for  large  numbers  of 
the  Federals  were  so  near  me  that  I  could  plainly  hear  them 
talking,  and  escape  would  have  been  almost  out  of  the  ques 
tion.  I  would,  however,  have  been  willing  to  have  made  a 
sacrifice  of  myself,  had  I  not  been  influenced  in  the  course  I 
did  by  other  considerations  than  those  of  prudence.  At  any 
rate,  I  permitted  my  opportunity  to  slip  by  unimproved,  and 
ere  a  great  many  moments  the  boat  and  its  occupants  were 
out  of  my  reach,  and  I  saw  the  two  generals  go  on  board  one 
of  the  gunboats. 

After  I  got  back  to  my  camp  I  could  not  help  thinking  that 
I  had  committed  an  error;  but  on  reflecting  over  the  matter 
in  cooler  moments,  I  was  not  sorry  that  I  had  resisted  the 
temptation  to  pull  the  trigger  when  I  had  my  finger  on  it. 
If  I  had  fired,  what  would  have  been  the  consequences,  so  far 
as  the  results  of  the  war  were  concerned?  The  Federals 
would  have  lost  their  ablest  general,  almost  at  the  beginning 
of  his  career.  Would  they  have  found  another  man  who  would 
have  commanded  their  armies  with  the  brilliant  success  that 
Grant  did?  These  are  momentous  questions,  when  we  think 
of  the  events  that  have  occurred  since  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
Much  more  than  the  life  of  a  single  man  was  probably  de 
pendent  upon  whether  I  concluded  to  fire  or  not,  as  I  pointed 
my  pistol  at  the  men  in  the  boat  that  April  night. 


A  4-4. —  4.1.  -    I^^J-  1~~  J 


PERPLEXITIES.  215 

to  the  Federal  camp  and  announce  myself  as  a  deserter,  taking 
my  chances  of  being  able  to  get  back  again,  or,  at  least,  to 
give  the  slip  before  many  hours,  should  my  sincerity  be  sus 
pected,  and  a  close  watch  be  put  over  me.  This,  however,  I 
thought  rather  too  risky  a  proceeding,  under  all  the  circum 
stances,  and  therefore  concluded  to  get  back  to  my  post  again. 
I  succeeded  in  doing  this,  although  not  without  considerable 
difficulty ;  and  not  caring  to  let  my  comrade  know  all  that  I 
had  seen  and  thought,  I  told  him  that  my  errand  had  been  an 
unsuccessful  one,  as  I  had  not  -been  able  to  get  near  enough 
to  the  Federal  lines  to  discover  anything  of  importance.  To 
insure  his  keeping  quiet,  I  said  that  I  would  go  and  get  him 
a  drink  of  that  whiskey  I  had  promised  him,  which  made  his  ^ 
eyes  sparkle  with. delight,  and  started  off  to  inform  my  captain 
with  regard  to  what  I  had  found  out,  and  to  ask  his  advice 
about  what  I  had  better  do. 

WHAT  HAD  BEST  BE  DONE? 

Captain  De  Caulp  was  seriously  perplexed  at  my  report; 
but  he  said  that  attempting  to  instruct  the  general  of  an  army 
was  a  risky  business,  and  the  probabilities  were,  that  should  I 
go  to  headquarters  with  my  story,  I  would  get  into  serious 
trouble.  He  further  suggested  that,  perhaps,  the  general  was 
as  well  informed  with  regard  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy 
as  myself,  if  not  better,  and  was  making  his  arrangements  ac 
cordingly ;  all  of  which  did  not  relieve  my  mind  of  its  pre 
monitions  of  impending  disaster,  although  it  convinced  me 
that,  for  my  own  sake,  I  had  better  hold  my  tongue.  In  spite 
of  everything,  however,  it  was  as  much  as  1  could  do  to  re 
frain  from  attempting  to  let  Beauregard  know  how  matters 
were,  and  of  running  all  the  risks  of  his  displeasure.  I  finally 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  responsibilities  were  his,  and 
not  mine,  and  I  had  no  fancy  for  being  put  under  arrest,  and 
of  ruining  all  my  future  prospects  by  going  through  with  my 
New  Orleans  experiences  again,  under  circumstances  that 
would  almost  inevitably  expose  me  to  indignities  worse  even 
than  those  I  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  honor  Mayor 
Monroe. 

I  accordingly  reluctantly  concluded  to  wait  and  see  what 
the  result  of  the  next  day's  battle  would  be,  declaring  ener 
getically  to  Captain  De  Caulp,  that  if  we  were  defeated,  I 
would  never  raise  my  sword  in  the  army  of  Tennessee  again. 


216  THE  SECOND  DAY'S  FIGHT. 

I  knew  that  there  would  be  some  hot  work  in  the  morning, 
whatever  the  final  result  of  the  battle  might  be,  and  felt  the 
necessity  of  getting  what  rest  I  could,  if  I  was  to  do  a  sol 
dier's  whole  duty.  Wrapping  myself  in  my  blanket,  there 
fore,  I  threw  myself  upon  the  ground,  and  tried  to  sleep ;  but 
I  was  so  agitated  and  apprehensive  for  the  morrow,  that  slum 
ber  was  an  impossibility.  Again  and  again  as  I  tossed  about, 
unable  to  close  my  eyes,  I  more  than  half  repented  of  my  res 
olution  not  to  report  the  result  of  my  spying  expedition  at 
headquarters ;  but  being  convinced  not  only  of  the  inutility, 
but  the  danger  to  myself,  of  such  a  proceeding,  refrained  from 
doing  so.  Several  times  I  fell  into  an  uneasy  doze,  but  the 
sound  and  refreshing  slumbers  that  I  so  sorely  needed  would 
not  visit  my  weary  eyelids,  and  daybreak  found  me  as  wide 
awake  as  ever,  but  certainly  not  fit  to  endure  the  fatigues  and 
perils  of  a  fierce  battle  in  such  a  manner  as  to  do  myself  any 
credit.  I  resolved,  however,  although  I  felt  that  we  were 
rushing  on  defeat,  to  face  every  danger,  and  endure  every 
trial  with  the  bravest  and  most  enduring  of  my  comrades,  so 
long  as  the  slightest  hope  of  success  remained,  and  if  finally 
defeat  seemed  inevitable,  to  make  off  with  what  speed  I  could 
for  the  purpose  of  trying  my  luck  in  some  other  quarter. 

COMMENCEMENT  OP  THE  SECOND  DAY'S  BATTLE. 

At  daylight  the  gunboats  began  to  fire  more  rapidly  than 
they  had  been  doing  during  the  night,  and  with  such  admi 
rable  execution  that  a  prompt  attack  upon  the  part  of  the  Con 
federates  was  rendered  impossible.  The  second  day  of  the 
battle,  therefore,  opened  favorably  for  the  Federals,  and  we 
lost  the  advantage  we  might  have  gained  by  assuming  the 
offensive,  and  hurling  our  forces  on. the  enemy,  with  that  elan 
for  which  our  Southern  soldiers  were  famous,  and  which  had 
served  them  so  well  on  many  important  occasions.  The 
opportunity  thus  lost  was  never  regained  ;  for  although  the 
fortunes  of  the  fight  seemed  to  waver,  it  was  easily  to  be  seen 
that  victory  was  no  longer  with  the  Confederates,  and  that  the 
grievous  mistake  of  the  ni«:ht  before,  in  not  promptly  follow 
ing  up  our  success,  and  finishing  our  work  then  and  there, 
would  have  all  the  terrible  consequences  I  had  feared. 

The  Federal  general,  Nelson,  formed  his  troops  in  line  of 
battle  on  our  extreme  left,  and  threw  out  his  skirmishers  for 


THE  CONFEDERATES  DEFEATED.  217 

over  a  mile.  Our  whole  force  was  soon  engaged ;  but  the 
Federals  steadily  advanced,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retire 
before  them,  our  worn  and  exhausted  men  fighting  desperately 
as  they  went.  About  ten  o'clock  we  succeeded  in  making 
the  cover  of  a  woods,  which  enabled  us  to  rally  with  effect, 
and  our  forces  were  hurled  against  the  enemy  with  such  fury, 
that  they  began  to  retreat  in  disorder ;  but,  being  supported 
by  re-enforcements,  they  were  ultimately  able  to  hold  their 
ground. 

About  this  time  a  heavy  cannonading  commenced,  and  the 
battle  began  to  assume  the  phase  of  an  artillery  duel.  On  our 
side,  Terril's  battery  did  excellent  service,  and  succeeded  in 
holding  the  enemy  at  bay,  giving  the  infantry  a  breathing 
spell  that  they  sorely  needed.  For  more  than  two  hours  the 
artillery  and  musketry  fire  continued  at  short  range ;  and  the 
Confederates  kept  up  to  their  work  in  such  gallant  style,  that 
the  enemy  wavered  again,  and  one  grand  charge  might  have 
routed  them.  Before  such  a  charge  could  be  made,  however, 
heavy  re-enforcements  arrived,  under  the  command  of  General 
Buell,  as  1  understood ;  and  these  fresh  troops,  formed  by 
brigades,  attacked  us  at  double-quick,  and  drove  us  back  half  a 
mile,  breaking  our  lines,  and  throwing  us  into  inextricable 
confusion. 

DEFEAT. 

By  two  o'clock,  the  whole  of  this  part  of  the  field  was 
cleared,  and  the  battle  was  practically  lost  to  the  Confeder 
ates,  although  the  fighting  was  obstinately  continued  else 
where  for  an  hour  or  two  longer. 

All  my  worst  anticipations  had  come  true ;  and  the  Federal 
army,  which  was  almost  annihilated  the  night  before,  had  not 
only  saved  itself,  and  recovered  its  lost  ground,  but  it  had  in 
flicted  upon  the  Confederates  a  most  disastrous  defeat.  This 
was  the  only  name  for  it,  for  we  were  worse  beaten  than  the 
Federals  were  at  Bull  Run;  and  the  fact  that  we  were  not 
pursued  on  our  retreat,  only  proved  that  the  Federal  com 
manders,  like  our  own  at  Bull  Run,  were  either  incapable  of 
appreciating  the  importance  of  vigorous  action  under  such 
circumstances,  or  were  unable  to  follow  up  their  advantages. 

When  I  saw  clearly  that  the  day  was  lost,  I  determined  to 
leave  the  field,  and  half  resolved  that  if  I  succeeded  in  getting 
well  away  from  our  beaten  army,  I  would  give  the  whole  thing 


218  THE  NIGHT  AFTER  THE  BATTLE. 

up,  and  never  strike  another  blow  for  the  Confederacy  as  a 
soldier.  I  was  scarcely  able  to  contain  myself  for  rage,  not  at 
the  defeat,  but  at  the  inexcusable  blunder  that  caused  it ;  and 
was  worked  up  to  such  a  pitch,  that  I  felt  willing  to  die,  as  if 
there  was  nothing  now  worth  living  for.  The  Fort  Donelson 
disaster,  which  I  had  hoped  would  be  retrieved,  had  now  been 
followed  by  another  even  more  terrible ;  and  the  success  of 
the  Confederate  cause  was  more  remote,  and  more  uncertain, 
than  ever.  It  made  me  gnash  my  teeth  with  impotent  fury 
to  think  of  these  things,  and  to  have  all  my  high  hopes  so  sud 
denly  dashed  to  the  ground,  just  when  the  prospects  for  their 
realization  seemed  so  bright. 

A  VALUABLE  PRIZE. 

About  five  o'clock  I  found  my  boy  near  the  hospital.  He 
had  my  horse,  and  another  fine  animal  that  he  had  picked  up. 
In  reply  to  my  query,  Bob  said  that  he  had  found  him  in  the 
woods  without  a  rider.  He  was  branded  "  U.  S,"  and  had  an 
officer's  saddle  on ;  and  as  he  seemed,  from  outside  appear 
ances,  to  be  superior  to  my  own  steed,  I  concluded  to  take 
possession  of  him.  Mounting  him,  I  tried  him  over  a  fence, 
and  a  large  log,  which  he  cleared  like  an  antelope ;  so  deem 
ing  him  a  prize  worth  securing,  I  turned  over  my  own  horse 
to  Bob,  and  started  him  off'  on  the  road  to  Corinth.  The  boy, 
however,  mistook  the  road,  and  went  plump  into  the  Federal 
camp  at  Purdy,  thus  depriving  me  of  his  valuable  services. 

As  for  me,  I  remained  in  the  woods  all  night,  the  roads 
being  perfectly  blocked  up  with  the  retreating  army,  trying  to 
shield  myself  as  best  I  could  from  the  furious  storm  of  rain 
and  hail  that  came  on,  as  if  to  add  to  the  miseries  which  the 
wretched  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy  were  compelled  to  en 
dure  on  their  weary  march  back  to  Corinth.  Although  I  had 
escaped  from  the  two  days'  fighting  unhurt,  I  was  so  utterly 
worn  out  and  wretched,  that  I  really  did  not  care  a  great  deal 
what  became  of  me,  and  was  almost  as  willing  to  be  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Federals  as  to  return  to  Corinth,  with  a  view 
of  again  undertaking  to  exert  myself  in  what  was  now  begin 
ning  to  appear  the  hopeless  cause  of  Southern  independence. 
I  managed,  however,  after  the  worst  of  the  storm  was  over,  to 
find  a  tolerably  dry  place,  where,  completely  used  up  by  the 
fatigues  I  had  undergone,  I  fell  into  a  sound  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
WO  U  ND  E  D. 

The  Morning  after  the  Battle  of  Shiloh.  —  My  Return  to  Camp.  — A  Letter 
from  my  Memphis  Lady-love.  —  A  sad  Case.  —  My  Boy  Bob  missing.  — 
I  start  out  to  Search  for  him.  —  A  runaway  Horse,  and  a  long  Tramp 
through  the  Mud.  —  Return  to  the  Battle-field.  —  Horrible  Scenes  along 
the  road.  —  Out  on  a  scouting  Expedition.  —  Burying  the  Dead.  —  I  re 
ceive  a  severe  Wound.  —  A  long  and  painful  Ride  back  to  Camp.  —  My 
Wound  dressed  by  a  Surgeon,  and  mj  Sex  discovered.  —  A  Fugitive.  — 
Arrival  at  Grand  Junction.  —  Crowd  of  anxious  Inquirers.  —  Off  for  New 
Orleans.  —  Stoppages  at  Grenada,  Jackson,  and  Osyka  on  Account  of 
my  Wound.  —  The  Kindness  of  Friends.  —  Fresh  Attempt  to  reach  New 
Orleans. —  Unsatisfactory  Appearance  of  the  military  Situation.. —  The 
Passage  of  the  Forts  by  the  Federal  Fleet.  —  A  new  Field  of  Employment 
opened  for  me.  —  I  resume  the  Garments  of  my  Sex. 

>ESTED,  but  scarcely  refreshed,  by  a  brief  slum 
ber  on  the  damp  ground,  and  with  thoughts  of 
the  most  gloomy  description  filling  my  mind,  I 
mounted  my  horse  at  daybreak  and  started  to 
ride  back  to  Corinth.  I  was  in  rather  different 
spirits  from  what  I  was  two  days  before,  when,  inspired 
by  brilliant  hopes,  and  full  of  confidence  that  with  this, 
the  first  great  battle  of  the  spring  campaign,  the  disas 
ters  of  the  winter  would  be  more  than  repaired,  and 
that  our  Confederate  army  was  about  to  enter  upon  a 
career  of  victory  which  would,  most  likely,  long  before 
the  ending  of  the  summer,  establish  our  independence,  I  had 
hastened  to  the  field,  eager  only  to  be  able  to  join  in  the  fight 
in  time  to  have  a  chance  of  distinguishing  myself  before  the 
Federals  should  be  completely  wiped  out.  The  attack  was, 
indeed,  made  as  brilliantly  and  as  successfully  as  I  had  antici 
pated  that  it  would  be,  and  at  the  end  of  a  hard  day's  fighting, 
victory  was  fairly  within  our  grasp.  At  the  end  of  another 
day,  however,  we  were  a  broken  and  disorganized  mass  of  fu 
gitives,  straggling  back  to  our  camps,  and  thinking  ourselves 
lucky  that  the  Federals  were  not  enterprising  enough  to  pur 
sue  us  before  we  could  reach  our  mtrenchments. 

219 


220  PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE. 

There  was  a  hope,  indeed,  that  we  would  be  able  to  hold 
Corinth,  and,  by  inducing  the  Federals  to  attack  us  in  our 
fortifications,  regain  something  of  the  advantage  we  had  lost. 
The  defeat,  therefore,  bad  as  it  was,  was  not  so  desperate  an 
overthrow  as  the  one  at  Fort  Donelson  ;  but,  although  I  felt 
this,  and  felt  that  if  we  could  but  hold  our  ground  a  little 
while  all  might  be  well,  I  was  so  despondent  over  the  way  things 
seemed  to  be  going,  that  I  had  little  heart  to  continue  in  the 
contest  any  longer.  At  the  same  time  I  was  loath  to  give  the 
thing  up,  and  could  not  help  reflecting  that  the  true  spirit  of 
heroism  required  me  to  bear  adversity  with  fortitude,  and  to 
seek  to  advance  the  interests  of  my  cause,  no  matter  how  un- 
propitious  the  times  might  seem. 

REFLECTIONS  AFTER  THE  BATTLE. 

I  was  more  than  ever  anxious  now,  however,  to  enter  upon 
the  line  of  duty  for  which  I  esteemed  myself  particularly 
fitted ;  for,  now  that  the  excitement  of  the  battle-field  was 
over,  and  defeat  once  more  compelled  reflection,  1  could  not 
help  thinking  that  I  was  doing  no  very  material  service  by 
plunging  into  the  thick  of  a  fight,  as  much  for  the  enjoyment 
of  tho  thing  as  anything  else,  whereas  I  could  be  worth  many 
soldiers  to  the  Confederacy  if  intrusted  with  certain  duties 
of  equal  responsibility  and  danger,  which  I  could  perform 
much  better  than  any  man.  How  to  obtain  an  assignment  to 
this  kind  of  duty,  however,  was  what  puzzled  me,  and  it  really 
almost  seemed  that  a  first-rate  opportunity  of  distinguishing 
myself  as  a  secret  service  emissary  would  never  be  offered. 

Resolving  in  my  own  mind  all  manner  of  plans  for  the 
future,  but  unable  to  determine  what  my  next  move  had  better 
be,  I  made  my  way  back  to  camp  feeling,  as  I  reflected  on  my 
brilliant  expectations  of  a  few  days  before,  as  if  I  were  re 
turning  from  a  fool's  errand,  although  I  cannot  say  that  I  was 
sorry  on  account  of  having  taken  a  hand  in  the  fight,  for 
throughout  the  two  days  I  had  borne  myself  as  gallantly  as 
the  best,  while  simply  as  a  personal  adventure,  the  battle  was 
a  memorable  affair  for  more  reasons  than  one.  It  was  at  least 
something  for  me  to  have  stood  by  the  side  of  my  expected 
husband  throughout  the  long  and  bloody  contest,  and  to  have 
given  him  proofs  of  my  valorous  disposition,  such  as  he  could 
scarcely  help  remembering,  with  pleasure,  in  the  future,  when 
he  learned  that  the  little  independent  lieutenant,  and  the 


MISTAKEN   AFFECTION.  221 

woman  who  was  engaged  as  his  wife,  were  one  and  the  game 
person.  So  far,  at  least,  my  participation  in  the  battle  was  a 
source  of  satisfaction  to  me,  although  it  did  not  diminish  my 
distress  at  so  soon  again  being  called  upon  to  witness  another 
hard-fought  field  lost  to  the  Confederacy. 


A  LOVE  LETTER. 

On  arriving  at  camp  I  found  a  mail  awaiting  me.  Among 
my  letters  were  some  from  my  friends  in  the  army  of  Virginia, 
and  one  from  my  little  Memphis  lady,  which  read  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"  MEMPHIS,  TENNESSEE,  April  2.  1862. 

"  MY  DEAR  HARRY  :  Yours  was  handed  to  me  the  next 
morning  by  our  trusty  and  faithful  old  servant  David,  and  I 
hastily  opened  it,  knowing  it  to  be  from  you  by  the  hand 
writing.  My  dear,  I  am  afraid  that  this  will  appear  unintelli 
gible,  being  wet  with  tears  from  beginning  to  end.  When 
your  letter  was  handed  to  me  we  were  at  breakfast,  and 
grandpa  was  reading  the  "  Appeal,"  wherein  it  was  stated  that 
all  officers  and  soldiers  away  from  their  commands  should 
report  for  duty.  I  was  afraid  that  you  would  have  to  go,  but 
some  hope  remained  until  your  fatal  letter  convinced  me  that 
my  suspicions  were  too  well  founded.  Alas,  how  vain  are 
human  expectations  !  In  the  morning  we  dream  of  happiness, 
and  before  evening  are  really  miserable.  I  was  promising  to 
myself  that  one  month  more  would  have  joined  our  hands,  and 
now  we  are  to  be  separated  —  yes,  perhaps  for  years,  if  not 
forever ;  for  how  do  I  know  but  that  the  next  tidings  may 
bring  intelligence  of  your  being  killed  in  battle,  and  then, 
farewell  to  everything  in  this  world;  my  prospects  of  a  happy 
future  will  vanish,  and  although  unmarried,  I  will  ever  remain 
the  widow  Buford  until  death. 

"  And  is  it  possible  my  dear  Harry  can  doubt  for  one  mo 
ment  of  my  sincerity  ;  or  do  you  think  that  these  affections  can 
ever  be  placed  on  another,  which  were  first  fixed  upon  your 
dear  self,  from  a  convincing  sense  of  your  accomplishments 
and  merit  ?  No,  dear  Harry,  my  fidelity  to  you  shall  remain 
as  unspotted  as  this  paper  was  before  it  was  blotted  with  ink 
and  bedewed  with  tears.  I  know  not  how  others  love,  but 
my  engagements  are  for  eternity.  You  desire  me  to  remind 
you  of  your  duty.  My  dear,  I  know  not  of  any  faults,  nor 


222  RELIGIOUS   CONSOLATION. 

am  I  disposed  to  look  for  any.  I  doubt  not  that  the  religious 
education  you  have  received  in  your  youth  will  enable  you  to 
resist  the  strongest  temptations,  and  make  that  everlasting 
honor  to  the  army,  Lieutenant  Buford,  although  not  afraid  to 
fight,  yet  afraid  to  sin.  However  terrifying  it  may  be  to  meet 
death  in  the  field,  yet  it  is  far  more  awful  to  appear  before  a 
just  God,  whom  we  have  offended  by  our  iniquities.  There 
are  no  persons  in  the  world  accused  more  of  irreligion  than 
the  military,  while  from  the  very  nature  of  their  employment 
none  are  more  obliged  to  practise  every  Christian  duty.  They 
see  thousands  of  their  fellow-beings  hurried  into  eternity 
without  a  moment's  warning,  nor  do  they  know  but  that  the 
next  day  they  may  themselves  meet  the  same  fate.  My  dear 
Harry,  never  be  ashamed  of  religion;  a  consciousness  of  your 
own  integrity  will  inspire  you  with  courage  in  the  day  of 
battle,  and  if  you  should  at  last  die  in  defence  of  the  right  in 
your  country's  cause,  the  Divine  favor  will  be  your  comfort 
through  eternity.  In  the  mean  time  my  prayers  shall  be  con 
stantly  for  your  safety  and  your  preservation  in  the  day  of 
battle,  and  my  earnest  hopes  will  be  fixed  upon  your  happy 
return. 

"  I  will  visit  my  aunt  this  fall  in  Alabama ;  she  being  your 
friend,  will  be  some  consolation  to  me  in  your  absence.  Let 
me  hear  from  you  as  soon  as  possible,  and  as  often,  and  never 
doubt  my  fidelity:  consider  me  yours  already,  and  I  arn  satis 
fied.  I  hung  your  handsome  picture  opposite  to  mine  in  the 
drawing-room,  over  where  we  used  to  sit  and  chat  together. 
Grandpa  says  that  it  does  not  flatter  you,  as  we  were  both 
lovesick.  What  ideas  the  old  folks  do  get  into  their  heads, 
just  as  if  they  had  never  loved  in  their  time.  I  have  not  seen 
the  captain  since ;  I  think  that  his  command  is  ordered  away. 

"  Farewell,  dear  Harry,  and  may  the  wisdom  of  God  direct 
you,  and  His  all-wise  providence  be  your  guard.  This  is  the 
sincere  prayer  of  one  who  prefers  you  before  all  the  world. 
Grandpa  and  auntie  wish  to  be  remembered  to  you  kindly.  I 
wrote  to  brother  that  you  would  hand  him  a  letter. 
"  Your  loving  intended  till  death, 

«  M ." 

I  give  this  as  a  favorable  specimen  of  the  love-letters  I  was 
in  the  habit  of  receiving  during  my  military  career,  and  I  have 
the  less  hesitation  in  doing  so  as  it  is  one  that  no  woman  need 
be  ashamed  of  having  written.  I  could  not  help  laughing  a 


A    RUN   OF   BAD    LUCK.  223 

little  as  I  read  it,  and  yet  I  felt  really  sorry  for  the  writer,  and 
reproached  myself  for  having  permitted  my  flirtation  with  her 
to  go  to  the  length  it  did.  The  case  was  a  particularly  sad 
one,  for  the  reason  that  the  man  who  loved  her  devotedly,  and 
who  would  doubtless  in  time  have  succeeded  in  curing  her  of 
her  misplaced  affections  for  the  fictitious  Lieutenant  Buford, 
was  among  the  slain  at  Shiloh.  There  was  no  braver  soldier 
belonging  to  the  Confederate  army  engaged  in  that  bloody 
battle  than  Phil.  Hastings,  and  his  death  was  doubly  a  source 
of  regret  to  me,  as  by  it  I  lost  a  warm-hearted  and  sincere 
friend,  and  also  an  opportunity  to  undo  the  wrong  I  had  un 
wittingly  done  him  through  capturing  the  affections  of  the 
girl  he  loved,  by  endeavoring  to  make  matters  right  between 
him  and  her. 

At  the  time  of  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  however,  I  had 
.something  of  more  pressing  importance  to  think  of  than  ex 
planations  with  Miss  M.  My  boy  had  not  put  in  an  appear 
ance,  and  suspecting  that  he  must  have  lost  himself,  I  started 
out  to  search  for  him ;  but,  although  I  made  diligent  inquiry, 
I  could  not  obtain  any  intelligence  of  him.  This  vexed  me 
extremely,  for  Bob  had  become  an  invaluable  servant,  being 
very  handy  and  entirely  trustworthy,  and  I  felt  that  he  would 
be  indispensable  to  me  in  the  movement  I  now  had  more  than 
half  determined  to  make,  with  a  view  of  trying  to  win  the 
favors  of  Fortune  in  a  somewhat  new  field  of  action. 

MY  HORSE  GETS  AWAY. 

To  make  matters  worse,  when  about  five  miles  from  Corinth 
my  horse  broke  from  me,  and  stampeding  out  of  sight,  left  me 
to  get  back  the  best  way  I  could.  I  was  now  in  a  pretty  fix, 
with  scarcely  any  money  about  me,  and  with  miles  of  terribly 
rough  and  muddy  roads  to  traverse  before  I  could  regain  my 
quarters.  There  was  nothing,  however,  to  do  but  to  bear  up 
under  my  misfortunes  as  bravely  as  possible,  and  so  plunging 
through  the  mud,  I  tried  to  make  my  way  back  to  Corinth 
with  what  rapidity  I  could. 

The  first  camp  I  made  was  that  of  the  eleventh  Louisiana 
regiment,  in  which  I  had  a  number  of  friends.  The  Louisiana 
boys  imagined  that  I  had  just  come  from  Memphis,  and  they 
gave  me  a  very  hearty  welcome,  although  they  were  not  feeling 
particularly  good  over  the  result  of  the  battle.  Obtaining  a 
horse  from  the  quartermaster,  I  started  back  to  the  battle- 


224  A  BURIAL  PARTY. 

field  in  company  with  Captain  G.  Merrick  Miller,  who  desired 
to  bury  the  dead  of  his  company. 

THE  BATTLE-FIELD  REVISITED. 

The  road  was  lined  with  stragglers,  many  of  them  suffering 
from  severe  wounds,  who  were  slowly  making  their  way  back 
to  their  respective  camps,  and  as  we  reached  the  scene  of  the 
late  action  the  most  ghastly  sight  met  our  eyes.  Tlie  ground 
was  thickly  strewn  with  dead  men  and  horses,  arms  and  accou 
trements  were  scattered  about  in  every  direction,  wagons 
were  stuck  in  the  mud  and  abandoned,  and  other  abundant 
evidences  of  the  sanguinary  nature  of  the  conflict  were  per 
ceptible  to  our  eyes.  I  could  face  the  deadliest  fire  without 
flinching,  but  I  could  not  bear  to  look  at  these  things,  and  so, 
after  having  made  a  number  of  vain  inquiries  for  Bob,  I  rode 
back  to  camp,  and  said  good-by  to  my  Louisiana  friends, 
leaving  them  under  the  impression  that  1  intended  to  take  the 
train. 

This  I  probably  might  have  done  had  I  not  fallen  in  with 
some  cavalry  who  were  about  starting  out  on  scouting  duty, 
and  been  tempted  to  accompany  them.  This  was  the  kind  of 
work  that  I  had  a  particular  liking  for ;  and  as  I  had  no  definite 
plan  for  the  immediate  future  arranged,  and  was  desirous  of 
finding  Bob  before  leaving  Corinth  or  its  neighborhood,  I 
concluded  to  try  whether  a  little  cavalry  service  would  not  be 
productive  of  some  adventure  worth  participating  in.  An 
adventure  of  importance  in  its  influence  on  my  future  career, 
sure  enough,  it  did  bring  me,  although  it  was  not  exactly  what 
I  anticipated  or  desired. 

BURYING  THE  DEAD. 

It  was  about  dark  when  we  set  out,  and  we  spent  the  night 
hovering  about  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  enemy,  but  without 
anything  noteworthy  occurring.  The  next  day  we  had  a 
little  brush  with  a  party  of  Federals,  and  after  the  exchange 
of  a  few  shots  were  compelled  to  retreat.  After  this,  we  came 
across  some  dead  men  belonging  io  the  tenth  Tennessee  regi 
ment  in  the  woods.  Carefully  removing  the  bodies  to  a  field 
near  by,  we  put  them  in  a  potato  bin,  and  with  a  hoe,  which 
was  the  only  implement  we  could  find  suited  to  our  purpose, 
we  covered  them,  as  well  as  we  were  able,  with  earth. 


WOUNDED.  225 

While  engaged  in  this  melancholy  duty,  the  enemy  were 
occasionally  firing  shells  in  different  directions,  apparently 
feeling  for  us.  We  paid  no  special  attention  to  them,  as  the 
Federals  seemed  to  be  firing  at  random,  and,  so  far  as  we 
could  judge,  did  not  notice  our  party.  Soon,  however,  a 
shrapnel  burst  in  our  midst,  killing  a  young  fellow  instantly, 
and  wounding  me  severely  in  the  arm  and  shoulder. 

I  AM  SEVERELY  WOUNDED. 

I  was  thrown  to  the  ground,  and  stunned  with  the  sudden 
ness  of  the  thing.  One  of  the  soldiers  picked  me  up,  and 
stood  me  on  my  feet,  saying,  "Are  you  hurt?" 

"  No,  not  bad,"  I  replied,  in  a  vague  sort  of  way,  but  my 
whole  system  was  terribly  shocked,  and  I  felt  deathly  sick. 
Before  a  great  many  moments,  however,  I  perfectly  recovered 
my  consciousness,  and  by  a  resolute  effort  of  will,  endeavored 
to  bear  up  bravely.  I  found,  however,  that  I  was  unable  to 
use  my  right  arm,  and  soon  the  wound  began  to  pain  me 
terribly. 

The  soldier  who  had  picked  me  up,  seeing  that  I  was  too 
badly  hurt  to  help  myself,  lifted  me  on  my  horse,  and  started 
back  to  camp  with  me.  It  was  a  long  ride,  of  nearly  fifteen 
miles,  and  I  thought  that  it  would  never  come  to  an  end.. 
Every  moment  the  pain  increased  in  intensity,  and  if  my 
horse  jolted  or  stumbled  a  little,  I  experienced  the  most 
excruciating  agony.  My  fortitude  began  to  give  wray  before 
the  terrible  physical  suffering  I  was  compelled  to  endure  ;  all 
my  manliness  oozed  out  long  before  I  reached  camp,  and  my 
woman's  nature  asserted  itself  with  irresistible  force.  I 
could  face  deadly  peril  on  the  battle-field  without  flinching, 
but  this  intolerable  pain  overcame  me  completely,  and  I  longed 
to  be  where  there  would  be  no  necessity  for  continuing  my 
disguise,  and  where  1  could  obtain  shelter,  rest,  and  attention 
as  a  woman.  My  pride,  however,  and  a  fear  of  consequences, 
prevented  me  from  revealing  my  sex,  and  I  determined  to 
preserve  my  secret  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  hoping 
soon  to  reach  some  place  where  I  could  be  myself  again  with 
impunity. 

By  the  time  we  reached  camp  my  hand  and  arm  were  so 

much  swollen,  that  my  conductor  found  it  necessary  to  rip  the 

sleeve  of  my  coat  in  order  to  get  at  the  wound  for  the  purpose 

of  bathing  it  in  cold  water.     The  application  of  the  water 

15 


226  THE  SURGEON  ASTONISHED. 

was  a  slight  relief,  but  the  hurt  was  too  serious  a  one  for  such 
treatment  to  be  of  permanent  service,  so  an  ambulance  was 
procured,  and  I  was  taken  to  the  railroad  and  put  on  the  train 
bound  South.  The  cars  stopped  at  Corinth  for  two  hours, 
and,  feeling  the  necessity  for  some  medical  attendance  as  soon 
as  possible,  I  seut  for  a  young  surgeon  whom  I  knew  intimate 
ly,  and  telling  him  that  I  was  wounded  severely,  asked  him  to 
try  and  do  something  to  relieve  my  suffering. 

MY  SEX  DISCOVERED. 

He  immediately  examined  my  arm,  and,  as  I  perceived  by 
the  puzzled  expression  that  passed  over  his  face,  he  was 
beginning  to  suspect  something,  and  guessing  that  further 
concealment  would  be  useless,  I  told  him  who  I  really  was. 
I  never  saw  a  more  astonished  man  in  my  life.  The  idea  of 
a  woman  engaging  in  such  an  adventure,  and  receiving  such 
an  ugly  hurt,  appeared  to  shock  him  extremely,  and  he  de 
clared  that  he  would  not  take  the  responsibility  of  performing 
an  operation,  but  would  send  for  Dr.  S.  This  frightened  me, 
for  I  had  witnessed  some  specimens  of  that  surgeon's  method 
of  dealing  with  wounded  soldiers,  and  I  insisted  that  he  was 
too  barbarous,  and  that  he  should  not  touch  me.  He  then 
proposed  to  send  for  Dr.  H.,  but  I  objected  to  this  also,  and 
finally,  at  my  urgent  solicitation,  he  consented  to  make  a 
careful  examination  himself,  and  try  what  he  could  do. 

My  shoulder  was  found  to  be  out  of  place,  my  arm  cut,  and 
my  little  finger  lacerated  —  a  disagreeable  and  exceedingly 
painful,  but  not  necessarily  a  very  dangerous  wound.  The 
surgeon  applied  a  dressing,  and  put  my  arm  in  a  sling,  after 
which  I  felt  a  great  deal  more  comfortable,  although  the  pain 
was  still  intense ;  and  he  then  endeavored  to  induce  me  to 
stop  at  Corinth  until  I  was  in  better  condition  for  travelling. 
Now,  however,  that  my  sex  was  discovered,  I  was  more  than 
ever  anxious  to  get  away  from  my  old  associates,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  some  place  where  I  could  remain  until  I  got  well, 
and  able  to  commence  operations  again  in  a  different  locality, 
without  being  annoyed  by  the  attentions  of  impertinently 
curious  people.  I  therefore  insisted  upon  pushing  on  to 
Grenada,  and  he,  finding  that  argument  was  useless,  and,  per 
haps,  appreciating  my  reasons  for  getting  away  as  soon  as 
possible,  very  kindly  went  and  procured  transportation  papers 
for  me;  and  before  the  information  that  a  woman,  disguised  as 


GRIEF-STRICKEN   RELATIVES    AXD    FRIENDS.  227 

an  officer,  was  among  the  wounded  on  the  train,  we  were,  to 
my  infinite  satisfaction,  speeding  out  of  sight,  leaving  behind 
us  the  camp  occupied  by  a  defeated  army.  The  thought  that 
our  brave  army  should  be  resting  under  the  cloud  of  a  most 
humiliating  defeat  was  a  mental  torture,  which  even  my  intense 
physical  suffering  could  not  pacify,  arid  I  was  heartily  glad  to 
be  able  to  take  myself  off  from  a  locality  which  had  so  many 
unpleasant  associations. 

While  on  the  train  I  suffered  a  great  deal,  although  I  was  as 
well  cared  for  as  circumstances  would  permit,  and  it  was  an 
immense  relief  when  we  reached  Grand  Junction,  for  the 
hotel  proprietor  there  was  an  old  and  true  friend  of  mine,  and 
I  felt  sure  of  receiving  from  him  all  the  attention  it  was  in  his 
power  to  bestow.  I  found,  however,  that  it  was  almost  an 
impossibility  to  get  any  accommodation  whatever,  on  account 
of  the  crowds  of  people  who  filled  the  place.  The  wives  and 
other  relatives  of  officers  and  soldiers  had  come  to  await  the 
result  of  the  battle  ;  and  as  the  news  that  the  Confederate 
army  had  been  defeated  had  preceded  me,  every  thing  was  in 
confusion,  and  everybody  plunged  in  the  deepest  grief. 

WAITING  FOR  THE  LOVED  ONES. 

Some  of  the  waiting  ones  had  already  received  their 
wounded  friends,  or  the  corpses  of  the  slain,  while  others 
were  nearly  wild  with  anxiety  on  account  of  husbands,  or 
brothers,  or  lovers  who  had  not  yet  been  heard  from.  Alas  ! 
many  of  them  were  lying  stretched,  stark  and  stiff,  on  the 
bloody  field  at  Shiloh,  where  they  had  bravely  fought  for  the 
cause  they  loved. 

I  was  asked  a  thousand  questions  about  the  battle,  and  was 
pressed  with  a  thousand  anxious  interrogatories  about  particu 
lar  persons,  and  endeavored  to  answer  as  well  as  I  could, 
notwithstanding  the  pain  which  my  wounded  arm  and  shoulder 
caused.  Many  of  the  women  could  not  prevail  upon  them 
selves  to  believe  that  the  Confederate  army  had  been  again 
defeated,  and  indulged  in  the  fiercest  invectives  against  the 
invaders.  The  intense  grief  of  these  stricken  people  affected 
me  even  more  than  the  terrible  scenes  incident  to  the  battle 
and  the  retreat,  and,  as  I  was  not  in  a  fit  condition  to  endure 
anything  more  of  anguish,  and  as  it  seemed  to  be  impossible 
to  obtain  a  room  where  I  could  be  quiet  and  free  from  intru 
sion,  I  determined  to  push  on  to  Grenada,  without  more  delay, 


228  A   PAINFUL   JOURNEY. 

although  I  was  anything  but  able  to  endure  the  excitement 
and  discomfort  of  several  hours'  ride  by  rail. 

Having  reached  Grenada,  I  took  a  good  rest  by  remaining 
there  for  two  days,  and  was  greatly  benefited  thereby,  for 
rest  and  an  opportunity  to  cool  off  from  the  excitement  1  was 
in,  were  what  I  particularly  needed  if  I  expected  to  make 
satisfactory  progress  with  the  healing  of  my  wound.  I  was 
visited  by  a  great  many  of  the  ladies  of  the  place,  who  presented 
me  with  bouquets,  delicacies  of  various  kinds,  and  bandages  for 
my  wound,  and  who  otherwise  overwhelmed  me  with  atten 
tions,  for  which  I  hope  I  was  duly  grateful.  Not  only  the 
natural  restlessness  of  my  disposition,  which  my  wound  aggra 
vated  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  an  impossibility  for  me  to 
keep  quiet,  but  a  desire  to  get  as  far  away  from  the  army  of 
Tennessee  as  possible,  before  the  fact  that  Lieutenant  Harry 
T.  Buford  was  a  woman  became  generally  known,  induced 
me  to  move  on  with  all  the  speed  I  could  make,  and  I  con 
sequently  started  for  New  Orleans  before  I  was  really  fit  to 
travel.  The  result  was,  that  when  I  reached  Jackson,  I  found 
myself  too  ill  to  proceed  farther,  and  was  compelled,  much 
against  my  will,  to  make  another  stop. 

The  hospitalities  I  received  at  Jackson,  I  will  always 
remember  with  the  warmest  feelings  of  gratitude.  I  was 
really  very  sick,  and  my  wounded  shoulder  and  arm  were 
terribly  inflamed,  and  I  scarcely  know  what  I  should  have 
done  had  not  a  widow  lady  and  her  daughter  taken  a  fancy 
to  me,  and  waited  on  me  until  I  was  able  to  be  on  the  road 
again.  These  ladies  treated  me  like  a  young  lord,  arid  I  shall 
ever  think  of  them  as  having  placed  me  under  a  debt  that  I 
can  never  repay. 

At  Jackson,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  General  Price's 
quartermaster,  who  was  stationed  there.  This  gentleman  I 
afterwards  met  in  Wyoming  Territory,  but  he  did  not  recog 
nize  me,  as,  indeed,  it  was  scarcely  possible  that  he  should. 

ON  THE  MOVE  AGAIN. 

So  soon  as  I  thought  myself  able  to  endure  the  fatigues  of 
travel,  I  insisted  upon  being  on  the  move  in  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  my  friends,  and  made  another  start  for  New 
Orleans.  I  had,  however,  miscalculated  my  strength,  and  was 
compelled  to  make  another  halt  at  Osyka,  near  the  Louisiana 
line.  At  this  place  resided  one  of  the  best  friends  I  ever  had 


AN   UNPROMISING    OUTLOOK.  229 

in  the  world.  He  is,  in  truth,  one  of  Nature's  noblemen,  and 
I  wish  that  our  country  had  more  like  him.  My  fervent 
prayer  is,  that  he  may  have  long  life,  health,  and  abundant 
prosperity,  and  that  every  blessing  may  be  showered  upon 
him  and  his  family.  With  this  kind  friend  I  remained  a  couple 
of  days,  and  was  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness,  a  kind 
ness  that  would  scarcely  permit  of  my  departure,  when,  feel 
ing  in  better  health  and  spirits  than  I  had  been  since  the 
battle,  I  announced  my  intention  of  continuing  my  journey. 
Resisting  all  importunities  to  make  a  longer  stay,  however,  I 
insisted  upon  going,  and  stepped  on  board  the  train  bound 
for  New  Orleans,  determined  to  reach  that  city  this  time  at 
all  hazards. 

By  this  time  my  wound  was  healing  quite  nicely ;  arid 
although  it  pained  me  considerably  still,  the  fcverishness 
which  had  attended  it  was  gone,  and  I  began  to  feel  myself 
once  more,  and  with  restored  health  began  to  busy  myself  in 
making  plans  for  the  future.  Exactly  what  course  next  to 
pursue  I  could  not  quite  determine,  but  I  felt  very  confident 
that  if  I  once  reached  New  Orleans,  and  could  prevent  myself 
from  being  interfered  with  by  my  old  friends,  the  provost 
marshal  and  Mayor  Monroe  I  would  very  soon  find  some 
congenial  employment. 

On  the  train  there  were  a  great  many  wounded  men,  some 
of  them  old  friends  of  mine  whom  I  was  glad  to  meet  with 
again.  The  trip,  therefore,  was  a  pleasant  one  in  some 
respects,  notwithstanding  its  melancholy  aspects,  and  we  had 
a  tolerably  lively  time  discussing  the  late  battle,  and  the 
chances  of  the  Confederates  being  able  to  make  headway  in 
the  future  against  the  force  which  the  Federals  were  bring 
ing  against  them  in  every  direction.  We  were  obliged  to 
acknowledge  that  the  outlook  was  not  a  particularly  promis 
ing  one,  and  more  than  one  expressed  the  belief  that  New 
Orleans  would  be  the  next  object  of  attack.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  confidence  felt,  however,  that  a  Federal  advance 
against  the  Gulf  city,  if  it  should  be  attempted,  would  be 
repulsed  in  a  manner,  that  would,  in  some  degree,  compensate 
for  the  Confederate  defeats  at  Fort  Donelson  and  Shiloh. 
This  confidence,  on  the  part  of  my  companions,  I  was  scarcely 
able  to  share,  for.  not  only  had  my  late  experiences  shaken  my 
belief  in  the  invincibility  of  the  Confederate  arm}7,  but  I 
knew  better  than  they  did  that  the  Federals  intended  to 
assail  New  Orleans,  and  I  felt  very  certain,  that  if  the  assault 


230  AN   ATTACK   ON   NEW   ORLEANS   EXPECTED. 

was  made,  it  would  be  with  a  force  that  our  people  would 
find  well-nigh  irresistible.  I,  however,  kept  my  thoughts  to 
myself,  but  resolved  that  so  soon  as  we  arrived  in  the  city,  I 
would  exert  myself  with  a  \iew  of  obtaining  a  Ml  under 
standing  of  the  situation,  and  decide  according  to  circum 
stances  what  course  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  pursue. 

BACK  IN  NEW  ORLEANS. 

In  New  Orleans  I  met  a  number  of  old  friends,  James 
Doolan,  Frank  Moore,  Captain  Daugherty,  and  others,  all  of 
whom  were  first-rate  fellows,  and  all  quite  certain  that  in  case 
the  Federals  should  put  in  an  appearance,  they  would  be  given 
a  warmer  reception  than  they  bargained  for.  I  admired  their 
enthusiasm,  although  I  was  not  as  well  able  to  share  it  as  I 
would  perhaps  have  been  some  months  before,  and  I  resolved 
to  see  for  myself)  as  much  as  I  was  able,  exactly  what  the 
defences  of  the  city  amounted  to.  I  accordingly  went  about 
the  camps  as  much  as  I  could,  in  a  quiet  sort  of  way,  making 
mental  notes  of  all  I  observed,  nnd  I  very  soon  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  military  situation  was  one  that  I  did  not 
like  a  bit.  I  knew,  however,  that  the  river  defences  were 
strong,  and  I  hoped,  rather  than  expected,  that  they  would 
be  able  to  repel  any  attack  that  would  be  made. 

I  was  not  long,  however,  in  concluding  that  New  Orleans 
would  be  a  good  place  for  me  to  go  away  from  at  as  early  a 
day  as  possible,  for  I  had  no  notion  of  witnessing  another 
triumph  of  the  enemy  if  I  could  help  it.  I  was,  however, 
far  from  being  strong  enough  to  go  on  active  duty,  and 
thought  that  the  best  thing  I  could  do  was  to  remain  where  I 
was  until  my  health  was  entirely  restored,  and  to  employ  this 
enforced  leisure  in  maturing  a  definite  plan  of  action  for  the 
future,  for,  with  returning  health,  my  desire  for  active 
employment,  either  in  the  field  or  on  detective  duty,  returned 
with  all  its  original  force,  and  I  could  not  induce  myself  to 
entertain  the  idea  of  resuming  permanently  the  garments  of 
my  sex,  and  of  abandoning  the  service  of  the  Confederacy  so 
long  as  there  was  any  work  to  be  done. 

When  the  news  came  that  the  Federal  fleet  had  passed 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  I  at  first  thought  of  leaving  as 
quickly  as  I  could  ;  but  a  little  reflection  induced  me  to  change 
my  mind,  for  I  saw  clearly  that  if  the  Federals  took  posses 
sion  of  the  city,  I  would,  as  a  woman,  have  a  grand  field  of 


A   CHANGE   OP   DRESS.  231 

operation.  I  therefore  resolved  to  remain  and  see  the  thing 
out,  and  the  uniform  of  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Bufbrd  was 
carefully  put  away  for  future  use  if  need  be,  and  the  wearer 
thereof  assumed  the  garments  of  a  non-combatant  feminine 
for  the  purpose  of  witnessing  the  entry  of  the  victors  into 
the  captured  city. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  CAPTURE   OF   NEW  ORLEANS,   AND   BUTLER'S 
ADMINISTRATION. 

Capture  of  Island  No.  10. — The  impending  Attack  on  New  Orleans. — 
The  unsatisfactory  Military  Situation.  —  Confidence  of  Everybody  in  the 
River  Defences.  —  My  Apprehensions  of  Defeat.  —  The  Fall  of  New 
Orleans.  —  Excitement  in  the  City  on  the  News  of  the  Passage  of  the 
Forts  being  received.  —  I  resolve  to  abandon  the  Career  of  a  Soldier,and 
to  resume  the  Garments  of  my  own  Sex.  Appearance  of  the  Fleet  op 
posite  the  City.  —  Immense  Destruction  of  Property.  —  My  Congratula 
tions  to  Captain  Bailey  of  the  Navy.  —  Mayor  Monroe's  Refusal  to  raise 
the  Federal  Flag.  —  General  Butler  assumes  Command  of  the  City.  — 
Butler's  Brutality.  —  I  procure  the  foreign  Papers  of  an  English  Lady, 
and  strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  the  Provost  Marshal.  —  Am  intro 
duced  to  other  Officers,  and  through  them  gain  Access  to  Headquarters.  — 
Colonel  Butler  furnishes  me  with  the  necessary  Passes  to  get  through  the 
Lines.  —  I  drive  an  active  Trade  in  Drugs  and  Confederate  Money  while 
carrying  Information  to  and  fro.  —  Preparations  for  a  grand  final  Specu 
lation  in  Confederate  Money.  —  I  am  intrusted  with  a  Despatch  for  the 
"  Alabama,"  and  am  started  for  Havana. 

OLLOWING  close  upon  the  defeat  at  Shiloh 
came  the  fall  of  Island  No.  10,  a  disaster  of 
great  moment  to  the  Confederacy,  for  the 
strength  of  its  fortifications  had  been  much 
relied  upon  to  check  the  advance  of  the  Fed 
erals  down  the  Mississippi  River ;  and  the  loss 
of  the  position  almost  simultaneously  with  the  Shiloh 
affair  was  well  calculated  to  inspire  gloomy  appre 
hensions  for  the  future.  I  heard  the  news  that  Island 
No.  10  had  been  captured,  after  reaching  New  Or 
leans,  and  the  fact  that  the  enemy  had  been  successful  in 
forcing  so  strong  a  defence  with  comparative  ease,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  radical  inefficiency  of  many  of  the  mili 
tary  preparations  being  made  for  the  defence  of  the  city,  pre 
vented  me  from  sharing  the  extreme  confidence  so  many 
people  expressed,  and  that  so  many  undoubtedly  felt,  with 
regard  to  the  entire  safety  of  New  Orleans.  If  a  strong  fort 

232 


APPEARANCE   OF   THE   FLEET   OFF   NEW   ORLEANS.  233 

like  Island  No.  10  could  be  taken,  why  should  not  the  Fed 
erals,  especially  it  they  made  the  attack  witli  a  proper  vigor, 
be  able  to  overcome  any  resistance  the  defences  of  New 
Orleans  —  in  many  respects  not  by  any  means  so  strong  — 
would  be  able  to  make  ? 

Exactly  when  or  where  the  blow  would  be  struck,  however, 
it  was  impossible  to  tell.  The  general  impression  was  that 
the  attack  would  be  made  by  the  army  under  General  Butler, 
and  Low  really  formidable  the  Federal  fleet  was,  few,  if  any, 
had  any  real  notion.  I  suppose  that  scarcely  any  one  im 
agined  the  ships  would  make  an  unsupported  effort  to  pass  the 
fortifications  below  the  city,  or  that  they  would  succeed  in 
doing  so  in  case  the  attempt  was  made.  I  knew  little  or 
nothing  about  the  river  defences,  or  the  preparations  that  were 
being  made  to  receive  a  naval  attack,  from  my  own  observa 
tions,  but  from  what  I  understood  with  regard  to  them,  1  felt 
tolerably  assured  of  their  efficiency,  and  my  chief  concern  was 
about  the  inefficiency  of  the  measures  adopted  to  resist  a  land 
attack. 

THE  FEDERAL  FLEET  PASSES  THE  FORT. 

The  Federal  fleet,  however,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one,  suc 
ceeded  in  overcoming  the  obstructions  in  the  river,  and  in 
passing  the  two  principal  forts,  after  a  desperate  battle,  and 
then  New  Orleans  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  naval  gunners, 
specimens  of  whose  methods  of  fighting  had  been  exhibited  to 
me  at  Fort  Donelson  and  Shiloh  in  such  a  manner  as  to  inspire 
me  with  a  wholesome  dislike  for  the  kind  of  missiles  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  throwing.  The  gunboats  I  had  encoun 
tered  at  Fort  Donelson  and  Shiloh  were,  however,  very  differ 
ent  affairs  from  the  ships  which  fought  their  way  past  Forts 
Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  —  a  broadside  from  a  frigate  like  the 
Hartford  ought  almost  to  have  routed  an  entire  army ;  and 
when  I  saw  these  splendid  vessels  appearing  off  the  levee, 
I  began  to  have  a  greater  respect  for  the  power  of  the  Federal 
government  than  I  had  had  before,  and  a  greater  appreciation 
of  the  weakness  of  the  Confederacy. 

But  while  I  was  thus  compelled  to  appreciate  more  forcibly 
than  I  had  done  the  enormous  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  suc 
cessful  termination  of  the  contest,  T  was  no  more  in  a  mood  for 
surrendering  than  I  was  at  the  beginning.  Indeed,  defeat  and 
disaster  only  nerved  me  to  make  greater  exertions  than  ever, 
and  1  held  in  utter  contempt  those  weak-hearted  people  who, 


234          BECOMING  ACCUSTOMED  TO  DEFEAT. 

when  the  news  that  the  fleet  had  passed  the  forts  and  was  on 
its  wa}-  up  to  the  city  reached  us,  were  willing  to  regard  the 
game  for  which  they  were  playing  as  lost,  and  the  Confederate 
cause  as  practically  overthrown.  I  was  for  fighting  the  thing 
out  so  long  as  we  had  a  foot  of  ground  to  fight  on,  but  I  saw 
very  clearly  that  if  anything  was  to  be  gained  now,  in  the 
face  of  the  heavy  disasters  that  were  overtaking  us,  strata 
gem  as  well  as  force  would  have  to  be  called  into  play,  and 
that  we  would  be  compelled  to  combat  the  enemy's  strength 
with  cunning. 

I   DETERMINE   TO  FIGURE  AGAIN   AS  A   WOMAN. 

I  felt  particularly  that  the  time  was  now  come  for  me  to 
make  a  display  of  my  talents  in  another  character  than  that  of 
a  warrior,  and  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  in  front  of  the  city  found 
me  in  the  anxious  and  angry  crowd  on  the  levee,  not  inele 
gantly  attired  in  the  appropriate  garments  of  my  sex  —  gar 
ments  that  I  had  not  worn  for  so  long  that  they  felt  strangely 
unfamiliar,  although  I  was  not  altogether  displeased  at  having 
a  fair  opportunity  to  figure  once  more  as  a  woman,  if  only  for 
variety  sake. 

Strange  to  say,  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  did  not  affect 
me  near  so  unpleasantly  as  the  defeats  at  Fort  Donelson  and 
Shiloh,  and  I  felt  nothing  of  the  depression  of  spirit  that  over 
came  me  after  these  battles.  This  may  have  been  because  I 
was  getting  accustomed  to  defeat  now,  and  was  consequently 
able  to  bear  up  under  it  more  philosophically,  although  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  it  was  because  I  was  not  one  of  the 
combatants,  and  consequently  did  not  have  that  overpowering 
individual  interest  that  a  combatant  must  feel  if  he  cares 
anything  for  his  cause.  I  experienced  less  of  that  peculiarly 
disagreeable  feeling  of  personal  chagrin  and  disappointment 
that  oppresses  a  soldier  belonging  to  a  beaten  army.  The 
fact,  however,  that  when  the  Federals  obtained  possession  of 
the  city  I  would  probably  be  able  to  do  some  detective  duty 
in  a  style  that  would  not  only  be  satisfying  to  my  own  ambi 
tion,  but  damaging  to  the  enemy,  and  of  essential  service  to 
the  Confederacy,  really  enabled  me  to  behold  the  approach  of 
the  fleet  with  a  considerable  degree  of  what  almost  might  be 
called  satisfaction.  As  a  woman,  and  especially  as  a  woman 
who  had  facilities  for  appearing  as  a  representative  of  either 
sex,  I  knew  that  I  would  be  able  to  observe  the  enemy's  move- 


SEEKING    DISTINCTION   IN   A  NEW   FIELD.  235 

ments,  and  ferret  out  their  plans  in  a  signally  advantageous 
manner :  and,  confident  that  my  cunning  and  skill  would  enable 
me  to  perform  an  important  work,  I  was  really  anxious  to  see 
the  enemy  occupy  the  city,  in  order  that  I  might  try  conclu 
sions  with  them,  having  ample  confidence  that  I  would  prove 
myself  a  match  for  the  smartest  Yankee  of  them  all. 

.1  was  the  more  willing  to  try  and  distinguish  myself  in  a 
new  field,  as  I  had  amply  demonstrated  to  my  own  satis 
faction,  and  to  that  of  thousands  of  the  best  fighting  men  of 
the  Confederate  armies,  that  I  lacked  nothing  of  the  valorous 
disposition  of  a  soldier,  and  that  I  could  stand  without  flinching 
before  the  hottest  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  I  aspired  to  win 
fresh  laurels  by  performing  services  of  a  kind  that  would  re 
quire  an  exertion  of  all  my  intellectual  faculties,  and  that  would, 
if  I  were  to  be  even  reasonably  successful,  bring  me  more  real 
credit,  and  more  enduring  fame,  than  almost  any  performances 
in  the  field  that  I  might  undertake.  After  nearly  a  year  of 
service,  I  was  just  beginning  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  I 
occupied  a  unique  position,  and  that  my  efforts  would  be 
almost  profitless,  alike  to  me  and  to  the  Confederate  cause,  if  I 
was  content  merely  to  figure  as  an  additional  combatant  when 
the  actual  clash  of  battle  came ;  and  while  I  did  not  regret, 
for  a  great  variety  of  reasons,  my  experiences  in  the  field,  I 
was  very  well  satisfied  to  abandon,  for  a  while  at  least,  a 
soldier's  life  for  the  purpose  of  undertaking  work  more  natu 
rally  congenial  than  campaigning,  and  for  which  my  sex,  com 
bined  with  my  soldierly  training,  peculiarly  fitted  me.  My 
experimental  trip  to  Washington  satisfied  me  that  it  was  as  a 
detective,  rather  than  as  a  soldier,  that  my  best  successes  were 
to  be  won  ;  and  now  that  one  of  my  most  important  surmises, 
based  upon  almost  the  barest  hints  obtained  on  that  trip,  was 
proven  to  have  been  well  founded,  I  was  inspired  by  a  special 
zeal  to  carry  out  intentions  which  I  had  been  revolving  in  my 
mind  ever  since  my  visit  to  the  Federal  capital.  These  inten 
tions  I  had  intended  to  carry  out  long  before,  and  had  I  ac 
cepted  the  invitation  to  return  to  Virginia,  which  I  received 
some  time  before  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  I  doubtless 
would,  long  ere  this,  have  been  actively  employed  in  passing 
through  the  Federal  lines  in  search  of  information.  The 
acceptance  of  that  invitation  was,  however,  delayed,  and  finally 
abandoned,  and  circumstances  prevented  my  making  a  very 
serious  effort  to  become  an  active  attache  of  the  detective 
corps  up  to  the  date  of  the  fall  of  New  Orleans.  With  the 


236  NEW   ORLEANS   TAKEN. 

capture  of  that  city,  however,  I  concluded  that  my  great  op 
portunity  had  come,  and  that  now  it  depended  upon  myself, 
rather  than  upon  the  favor  or  whim  of  some  commanding 
officer,  whether  I  should  give  the  cause  the  benefit  of  my  best 
talents  or  ndt.  The  opportunity  I  embraced  with  the  utmost 
eagerness,  and  with  a  resolve  to  make  myself  as  troublesome 
as  possible  to  the  conquerors  of  New  Orleans. 

General  Lovell,  who  was  in  command,  so  soon  as  he  saw 
that  the  fleet  had  passed  the  forts,  posted  up  to  the  city  in  hot 
haste,  and  began  to  make  preparations  for  leaving,  and  for 
destroying  all  the  cotton  and  other  property  that  would  be 
likely  to  be  particularly  useful  to  the  enemy.  The  wildest 
excitement  prevailed  when  it  was  understood  that  New  Or 
leans  was  about  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals,  and  great 
wrath  and  indignation  were  excited  by  what  was  believed 
to  be  the  inefficiency  of  the  defence.  Without  waiting  to  argue 
the  matter,  however,  with  the  angry  citizens,  General  Lovell 
turned  over  the  responsibility  of  making  terms  with  the  victors 
to  Mayor  Monroe,  and  got  away  with  the  remnant  of  his  army 
as  fast  as  he  was  able. 

THE  FLEET  APPEARS  OFF  THE  CITY. 

Late  in  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  April,  1862,  the  Federal 
fleet  could  be  seen  coming  up  the  river,  but  it  must  have 
dampened  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Yankee  sailors  somewhat  to 
find  steamboats,  cotton,  and  all  kinds  of  combustible  property 
blazing  for  miles  along  the  levee.  It  was  a  terribly  magnifi 
cent  spectacle,  bat  one  the  like  of  which  1  earnestly  hoped  I 
might  never  witness  again,  for  it  fairly  made  me  shudder  to 
see  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  property  being  utterly  de 
stroyed  in  this  reckless  manner,  and  it  impressed  me  more 
stronaly  with  an  idea  of  the  horrors  of  warfare  than  all  the 
fighting  and  slaughter  I  had  ever  seen  done.  There  seemed, 
however,  to  be  no  help  for  it,  and  General  Lovell  was  probably 
justified  in  giving  the  order  he  did,  and  thereby  diminishing 
the  value  of  the  prize  which  the  Federals  had  won. 

It  was  about  one  o'clock  when  the  fleet  came  in  front  of  the 
city,  and  the  vessels,  one  by  one,  dropped  their  anchors.  A 
demand  for  a  surrender  was  brought  on  shore  by  Captain 
Bailey,  who  went  up  to  the  City  Hall  to  have  a  conference  with 
the  mayor.  I  was  on  the  alert  to  commence  operations  as  soon 
as  possible,  and,  desirous  of  being  in  favor  with  the  captors,  I 


BUTLER   TAKES   COMMAND.  237 

sought  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  Captain  Bailey,  and  to  wel 
come  him  to  the  city.  He  shook  hands  with  me,  and  said  that 
he  would  see  me  again ;  but  he  had  no  time  for  conversation 
just  then,  and  as  my  object  was  accomplished  by  introducing 
myself  to  his  notice  as  a  pretended  friend  of  his  cause,  I  did 
not  make  any  endeavor  to  further  attract  his  attention. 

Mayor  Monroe  behaved  nobly  when  he  was  asked  to  sur 
render  the  city.  He  said  that  the  city  was  without  defence, 
and  at  the  mercy  of  the  conquerors,  but  that  it  was  not  within 
his  province  as  a  municipal  officer  to  surrender.  He  declined 
to  raise  the  United  States  flag  over  the  public  buildings,  or  to 
do  anything  that  would  seem  a  recognition  of  the  right  of  the 
Federals  in  any  way  to  regulate  affairs  in  New  Orleans  by  any 
thing  else  than  the  law  of  force.  When  I  read  his  reply  to 
Farragut's  demand  for  a  surrender,  I  readily  forgave  my  pri 
vate  grievance  against  him.  The  mayor  having  positively 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  displaying  the  United 
States  flag,  or  with  lowering  the  flag  of  Louisiana,  the  raising 
of  the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  public  buildings  was  done  by 
the  sailors  from  the  Federal  fleet. 

MUMFORD   PULLS  DOWN   THE   FLAG   FROM   THE   MlNT. 

The  United  States  flag  which  was  raised  upon  the  mint  was 
pulled  down  again  by  Mumford,  who  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
life  for  the  act  after  Butler  took  command  of  the  city.  The 
execution  of  this  young  man  was  an  outrage  on  civilization, 
and  a  crime  on  the  part  of  the  man  who  ordered  it  which  en 
titles  his  memory  to  execration.  Mumford  told  me  himself 
that  he  perpetrated  the  act  through  a  mistaken  idea  that  the 
flag  had  been  displayed  by  some  traitor,  and  that  he  was  not 
aware  at  the  time  that  the  Federals  had  assumed  control  of  the 
city.  The  execution  of  Mumford  was  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
many  dastardly  actions  perpetrated  by  Butler  during  the  reign 
of  terror  that  he  inaugurated,  and  that  will  cause  his  name  to 
be  remembered  with  hatred  in  New  Orleans,  and,  indeed, 
throughout  the  whole  South,  long  after  the  ordinary  passions 
of  the  war  have  died  out. 

When  Butler  took  command,  which  he  did  on  May  1st,  he 
issued  orders  stopping  the  circulation  of  Confederate  currency, 
directing  the  people  to  resume  their  usual  avocations,  and 
giving  everybody  to  understand  that  he  intended  to  have  his 
own  way. 


238  STRATEGY. 

It  is  not  necessary,  ^n  a  merely  personal  narrative  like  this, 
to  go  into  any  details  with  regard  to  Butler's  rule  in  New 
Orleans.  The  execution  of  Mumford  for  what,  according  to 
the  worst  construction  that  could  be  put  upon  it,  was  a  very 
venial  offence,  and  what  in  reality  was  a  mere  act  of  indis 
cretion,  utterly  unworthy  of  notice,  after  the  Federals  were 
in  full  control  of  the  city,  and  his  infamous  "  woman  order," 
are  specimens  of  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  himself, 
and  they  were  acts  that  speak  too  loudly  for  themselves  to 
require  comment. 

PLANS  FOB  CIRCUMVENTING  BUTLER. 

I  soon  perceived  that  with  such  a  brute  as  this  man  Butler 
to  deal  with,  it  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  be  extremely 
circumspect,  and  to  bring  my  best  strategic  talents  to  bear,  if 
I  expected  to  accomplish  anything.  I  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  city  and  environs,  and  knew  exactly  how  to  go  about 
slipping  in  and  out  through  the  lines ;  but  to  carry  on  such 
operations  as  I  proposed  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  safety 
and  assurance  of  success,  it  was  necessary  —  especially  after 
the  deposition  of  Mayor  Monroe,  by  Butler's  order,  and  the 
placing  of  the  city  under  martial  law  —  for  me  to  keep  all  my 
wits  about  me,  and  to  take  care  to  be  on  good  terms  with 
those  in  authority. 

I  therefore  set  to  work  with  due  diligence  and  persistency 
to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  Federal  officers.  Some  of  them 
I  found  to  be  very  pleasant,  gentlemanly  fellows,  who  were 
disposed  to  make  themselves  as  agreeable  as  possible  to  every 
body,  and  who  were  much  gratified  to  hear  any  one  —  espe 
cially  any  woman  —  express  Union  sentiments.  Many  of 
them  did  not  at  all  approve  of  the  offensive  manner  in  which 
Butler  conducted  himself,  and  some  of  his  orders  were  carried 
out  with  a  great  deal  of  reluctance  by  those  intrusted  with 
their  execution.  With  some  of  these  officers  I  soon  managed 
to  get  on  very  friendly  terms,  and  they  were  always  so  polite 
and  considerate  in  their  treatment  of  myself  and  others,  that 
I  greatly  regretted  the  necessity  of  deceiving  them. 

I,  however,  had  objects  in  view  with  which  my  private 
friendships  and  personal  feelings  could  not  be  permitted  to 
interfere,  and  in  all  my  conversations  and  communications 
with  the  officers  of  Butler's  command,  I  never  lost  sight  of 
opportunities  to  serve  the  Confederate  cause.  Following  up 


A   STROKE   OF   GOOD   LUCK.  239 

the  line  of  policy  I  had  determined  upon  when  I  introduced 
myself  to  Captain  Bailey,  I  professed  strong  Union  sentiments, 
and  took  occasion,  whenever  in  the  presence  of  officers  or  sol 
diers,  to  denounce  the  cause  I  loved,  and  the  welfare  of  which 
I  was  so  anxious  to  promote.  This  line  of  conduct  had  the  de 
sired  effect,  for  I  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  few  stanch 
advocates  of  the  Federal  government  in  New  Orleans,  and  not 
only  secured  myself  from  molestation,  but  gained  the  entire 
confidence  of  our  new  rulers.  My  Southern  friends,  who  could 
not  understand  what  I  was  driving  at,  were,  of  course,  alien 
ated  from  me,  much  to  my  regret  and  sorrow  ;  but  this  could 
not  be  helped,  for  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  in  a  matter  of 
this  kind,  that  I  should  have  no  confidants,  and  should  depend 
entirely  upon  myself.  My  secret,  so  long  as  I  was  the  sole 
possessor  of  it,  was  safe,  which  it  assuredly  would  not  have 
been  under  such  a  system  of  espionage  as  that  established  by 
Butler,  had  I  intrusted  it  to  any  one,  or  had  I  failed  in  the 
slightest  particular  to  sustain  the  character  of  a  devoted 
Unionist,  which  I  had  assumed.  It  was  better  for  me  to  risk 
the  temporary  loss  of  my  friends,  in  the  hope  and  expectation 
that  the  vindication  of  my  conduct  would  come  with  time, 
than  to  risk  anything  by  an  incautious  word,  or  even  look ;  and 
I  accepted  the  consequences  of  a  thorough  performance  of 
the  duties  I  had  assigned  myself  without  hesitation,  and  with 
a  resolute  determination  to  give  Butler  as  much  annoyance  as 
was  in  my  power. 

I   PROCURE  SOME  FOREIGN  PAPERS. 

I  had  a  stroke  of  good  luck  in  the  very  beginning.  An 
English  lady,  with  whom  I  had  become  slightly  acquainted, 
was  on  the  point  of  returning  to  her  own  country,  having 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  Old  England  was  a  quieter,  and 
on  the  whole  more  agreeable  place  of  residence,  just  at  that 
time,  than  America,  for  a  person  who,  like  herself,  had  no 
interest  in  the  contest  that  was  being  carried  on,  but  who 
was  pretty  certain,  if  she  remained,  to  suffer  numerous  incon 
veniences  and  hardships.  This  lady  was  decidedly  friendly, 
however,  to  the  Confederate  cause,  as,  indeed,  were  all  the 
foreign  residents  of  New  Orleans,  and  she  would  willingly 
have  aided  it  in  any  way  that  she  could  without  getting  her 
self  in  trouble.  As  matters  stood,  however,  she  was  anxious 
to  get  away  as  soon  as  possible,  the  capture  of  the  city  by  the 


240  A  VALUABLE  ACQUAINTANCE. 

Federals,  with  its  attendant  horrors,  combined  with  a  pros 
pect  that  the  Confederates  would  before  long  probably  make  a 
desperate  attempt  to  regain  it,  riot  having  the  most  soothing 
effect  upon  her  nerves.  Hearing  that  she  was  about  to  leave, 
I  went  to  her,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  purchase  her  pass 
port  and  other  foreign  papers,  confident  that,  armed  with  such 
documents  as  these,  I  would  be  able  to  make  a  fair  start 
against  the  Federal  authorities,  and  gain  some  immediate  ad 
vantages  that  would  probably  be  otherwise  out  of  the  ques 
tion.  The  lady  readily  consented  to  part  with  the  papers  for 
a  fair  price,  being-  glad  to  get  the  money  I  offered  for  them, 
and  she  either  believed,  or  affected  to  believe,  the  story  which 
I  told  to  account  for  my  eagerness  to  possess  them.  There 
was,  in  fact,  however,  no  particular  necessity  for  romancing 
to  any  great  extent  on  such  a  subject  as  this ;  for  in  the  ter 
ror  and  confusion  incident  to  the  abandonment  of  the  city  by 
the  Confederates  and  its  occupation  by  the  Federals,  and  in 
the  great  uncertainty  with  regard  to  what  the  near  future 
would  bring  forth,  it  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world 
that  a  lone  and  unprotected  woman  like  myself  should  desire 
to  have  the  means  at  hand  of  escaping  from  any  claims  to 
allegiance  that  either  party  might  present,  and  of  invoking 
the  protection  of  some  foreign  power. 

A  TALK  WITH  THE  PROVOST  MARSHAL. 

Armed  with  my  British  papers,  I  went  to  the  office  of  the 
provost  marshal  for  the  purpose  of  striking  up  an  acquaint 
ance  with  that  gentleman,  he  being  the  person  it  was  most 
immediately  important  for  me  to  have  dealings  with,  and  to 
gain  the  confidence  of.  On  requesting  an  interview,  I  was 
ushered  into  the  provost  marshal's  presence,  and  introducing 
myself  to  him  under  the  name  I  had  decided  to  assume,  told 
him  that  I  was  heartily  glad  to  welcome  the  army  of  the 
United  States  to  New  Orleans,  and  that  I  hoped  this  wretched 
contest  would  soon  be  at  an  end,  and  the  stars  and  stripes 
acknowledged  everywhere  once  more. 

He  seemed  to  be  a  little  surprised,  and  even  suspicious,  at 
my  warmth  of  manner,  and  giving  me  a  rather  keen  look, 
which  I  bore  without  flinching,  he  asked  me,  with  some 
brusqueness,  but  at  the  same  time  not  impolitely,  if  I  had 
taken  the  oath  yet. 

This  was  a  rather  delicate  question,  and  as  I  had  not,  and 


AT   THE   PROVOST   MARSHAL'S    OFFICE.  241 

did  not  intend  to  take  the  oath  he  alluded  to,  I  concluded 
to  waive  it,  and  avoid  giving  a  direct  answer.  I  therefore 
replied  that  I  was  a  Northern  woman,  and  that  my  father 
was  a  New  Yorker,  but  that,  being  in  New  Orleans  at  the 
time  of  the  establishment  of  the  blockade,  I  had  been  unable 
to  communicate  with  my  friends  at  the  North  and  in  England, 
or  to  get  away.  This  was  all  plausible  enough,  and  the 
provost  marshal  accepted  it  as  a  genuine  statement  of  my 
case,  apparently  without  hesitation,  although  he  did  not  let 
me  off  without  some  cross-questioning. 

"  Have  you  a  family  ?  "  said  he. 

"  No,  sir,"  I  replied,  with  as  sad  and  mournful  an  expression 
as  I  could  put  on,  "I  am  a  widow ;  my  husband  was  an 
Englishman,  and  on  his  death  he  left  me  in  quite  comfortable 
circumstances.  I  have,  however,  lost  everything  by  these 
wretched  rebels,  who  have  destroyed  my  property,  and  robbed 
me  without  mercy."  While  indulging  in  this  recital  of  my 
troubles  I  wiped  my  eyes  with  my  pocket  handkerchief,  tried 
my  best  to  squeeze  out  a  tear  or  two,  and  looked  as  sorrow- 
stricken  as  I  possibly  could. 

The  provost  marshal,  if  he  did  not  exactly  overflow  with 
sympathy,  appeared  desirous  of  doing  what  he  could  for  me, 
and  asked  where  I  lived. 

I  replied  that,  owing  to  my  reduced  circumstances  I  was 
unable  to  keep  house,  as  I  had  been  doing  up  to  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  and  that  I  was  occupying  a  rented  room, 
which,  small  as  it  was,  I  was  doubtful  about  being  able  to 
keep  unless  I  heard  from  my  friends  soon,  or  was  able  to  ob 
tain  some  employment  by  which  I  could  make  a  little  money. 
I  then  told  him  what  my  number  was,  and  after  some  further 
conversation,  chiefly  about  my  poverty,  the  wrongs  I  had  suf 
fered  from  the  rebels,  and  the  difficulty  of  making  ends  meet, 
I  informed  him  that  I  had  come  from  England  to  New  Orleans 
with  my  late  husband,  some  years  before  the  war,  and  that  I 
proposed  to  return  there  so  soon  as  I  received  a  sufficient 
remittance.  The  provost  marshal  expressed  a  willingness  to 
aid  me  in  any  way  that  lay  in  his  power,  and  I  bowed  myself 
out  of  his  presence,  feeling  tolerably  confident  that  I  had  pro 
duced  the  impression  I  wished,  and  that,  if  I  managed  mat 
ters  discreetly,  he  and  I  would  have  no  difficulty  in  getting 
along  with  each  other. 

The  next  day  I  met  the  provost  marshal  again.  He  ap 
peared  to  be  quite  pleased  to  see  me,  and  introduced  me  to 
16 


242  IN  FAVOR   AT   HEADQUARTERS. 

« 

two  officers  of  the  thirty-first  Massachusetts  regiment.  They 
were  both  gentlemen,  with  whom  it  would  have  been  a  pleas 
ure  for  me  to  have  formed  a  real  friendship  under  any  other 
circumstances;  but,  as  my  only  object  in  making  their  ac 
quaintance  was  that  I  might  be  able  to  use  them  as  instru 
ments  for  the  accomplishment  of  my  purposes  as  a  Confed 
erate  agent,  I  of  course  did  not  permit  my  personal  liking  for 
them  to  interfere  with  the  grand  objects  I  had  in  view. 
They,  on  their  side,  appeared  to  be  not  a  little  gratified  to 
find  at  least  one  woman  in  New  Orleans  who  professed  a  de 
cided  partiality  for  the  stars  and  stripes,  —  for  such  women 
were  rare  in  those  days,  —  and  they  showed  a  marked  inclina 
tion  to  continue  the  acquaintance.  I  accordingly  invited 
them  to  call  upon  me,  and  soon  managed  to  establish  such 
friendly  relations  with  them  that,  through  their  influence,  I 
gained  access  to  headquarters. 

General  Butler  I  fought  shy  of,  for  I  did  not  like  his  looks, 
and  concluded  to  have  as  little  to  do  with  him  as  possible.  I 
met  his  brother,  Colonel  Butler,  however,  who  was  the  power 
behind  the  throne,  and  who  managed  most  of  the  transactions 
which  had  any  money  in  them,  which  the  general  could  not 
have  openly  touched  without  exciting  comment,  and  probably 
getting  himself  into  trouble.  Both  the  general  and  the 
colonel  were  decidedly  on  the  make,  and  were  bent  on  im 
proving  the  chances  which  the  practically  unlimited  control 
of  one  of  the  richest  cities  on  the  continent  gave  them  for 
bettering  their  fortunes.  The  colonel,  however,  could  attend 
to  mere  pocket-filling  operations  to  better  advantage  than  his 
brother,  and  it  soon  became  well  understood  that  he  was  the 
one  to  apply  to,  if  any  favors  from  headquarters  were  desired. 

I    OBTAIN   PASSES   TO    GO    THROUGH   THE   LlNES. 

From  Colonel  Butler  I  obtained  permits  to  go  to  Mandeville, 
on  the  other  side  of  Lake  Pontchartrain,  and  even  to  visit 
Mobile,  without  being  searched.  With  these  papers  in  my 
possession,  I  set  about  preparing  for  a  career  of  some  activity 
in  the  way  of  running  through  the  lines  and  communicating 
with  the  Confederate  authorities.  Having  the  same  desire  as 
the  two  Butlers  to  earn  a  dollar  or  so  when  I  could,  and,  if 
possible,  without  stealing,  I  engaged  quite  extensively  in  the 
drug  business,  while  performing  the  duties  of  a  special  mes- 
.senger  and  bearer  of  Confederate  despatches.  Drugs  of  all 


RUNNING   THROUGH   THE   LINES.  243 

kinds  were  very  scarce  within  the  Confederate  lines,  and 
consequently  brought  enormous  prices ;  so  that  any  one  who 
could  manage  to  smuggle  them  past  the  Federal  outposts  was 
certain  of  reaping  a  handsome  profit.  I  succeeded  in  obtain 
ing  a  good  quantity  of  this  kind  of  merchandise  from  the  dif 
ferent  hospitals,  and,  as  I  could  carry  many  dollars'  worth 
about  my  person  without  attracting  particular  attention,  I 
much  more  than  made  my  expenses  on  the  several  trips  I 
undertook  to  Mandeville  and  beyond.  Confederate  money 
was  also  cheap,  as  well  as  plenty,  in  New  Orleans,  as  every 
body  had  some  of  it ;  while,  under  Butler's  orders,  it  could 
not  be  used.  It  therefore  offered  fine  opportunities  for  spec 
ulation  to  any  one  who  could  carry  it  to  where  it  was  of  more 
value  than  it  was  in  New  Orleans  just  at  that  time.  I  there 
fore  invested  quite  heavily  in  Confederate  promises  to  pay, 
and,  as  with  the  drugs,  contrived  to  make  the  speculation  pay 
handsomely. 

Having  made  several  trips  fvith  success  and  with  much 
profit,  I  began  to  think  that  I  was,  perhaps,  making  out  with 
my  enterprises  entirely  too  well ;  and,  apprehensive  of  getting 
into  some  difficulty  which  I  might  not  be  able  to  get  out  of  as 
easily  as  I  could  wish,  —  for  I  saw  a  number  of  indications  of 
trouble  ahead,  —  I  resolved,  while  on  one  of  my  expeditions, 
after  a  consultation  with  my  Confederate  friends,  to  return  to 
New  Orleans,  for  the  purpose  of  buying  up  a  quantity  of 
the  proscribed  money,  and  then  to  leave  for  good,  getting  out 
of  Butler's  power  while  I  had  a  fair  chance  of  doing  so. 
This  arrangement  fell  through,  however ;  for  I  was  persuaded 
to  make  a  trip  to  Havana,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  a  de 
spatch  to  the  Confederate  cruiser,  the  "  290,"  or  "  Alabama," 
as  she  was  otherwise  called,  and  of  transacting  some  other 
business  of  a  secret  character  for  advancing  the  interests  of 
the  Confederacy.  This  commission  I  accepted  with  eager 
ness,  and  returned  to  New  Orleans  with  what  haste  I  could, 
with  the  despatch  secreted  on  my  person,  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  the  first  vessel  for  Havana. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

A   VISIT    TO    HAVANA. 

A  Trip  to  Havana.  —  My  Purposes  in  making  the  Journey.  —  The  Results 
of  a  Year  of  Warfare.  —  Gloomy  Prospects.  —  A  Gleam  of  Hope  in 
Virginia.  —  The  Delights  of  a  Voyage  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  —  The 
Island  of  Cuba  in  Sight.  —  The  Approach  to  Havana.  —  I  communicate 
.  with  the  Confederate  Agents  and  deliver  my  Despatches.  —  An  Inter 
change  of  valuable  Information. — The  Business  of  Blockade-running 
and  its  enormous  Profits.  —  The  Injury  to  the  Business  caused  by  the 
Capture  of  New  Orleans.  —  My  Return  to  New  Orleans  and  Prepara 
tion  for  future  Adventures. 


HE  idea  of  making  a  trip  to  Havana  was  very 
agreeable  to  me  for  a  number  of  reasons.  My 
health  was  not  so  robust  as  it  had  been,  and 
my  wounded  arm,  although  it  had  healed  up, 
was  still  very  sore,  and  hurt  me  severely  at 
times.  It  was  an  impossibility  for  me  to  keep 
quiet  so  long  as  I  was  in  the  midst  of  associations 
calculated  to  excite  me  and  to  stimulate  the  combative- 
ness  of  my  nature,  and  I  needed  more  than  anything 
else,  for  restoration  to  perfect  health,  such  a  rest  as  a 
sea  voyage  alone  could  give.  There  was,  it  is  true,  some 
risks  in  visiting  Havana  at  this  season,  but  I  was  acclimated, 
and  did  not  worry  myself  much  with  fears  of  yellow  fever  or 
other  diseases,  my  mind  being  too  intently  fixed  on  a  variety 
of  other  matters  that  I  esteemed  of  more  consequence. 

The  most  important  reason  for  my  wishing  to  take  a  run 
over  there  was,  a  desire  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Confederate  agents,  and  to  learn  something  of  their  methods 
of  transacting  business  in  the  way  of  sending  communications 
through  the  lines,  for,  even  when  the  blockade  could  not  be 
run  with  goods,  it  was  often  possible  to  smuggle  important 
information  past  the  Federal  cruisers,  and,  some  of  the  post 
lines  were  so  complete,  that,  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  their 
enemies,  "the  beleaguered  Confederates  managed  to  maintain 

244 


GLOOMY  PROSPECTS.  245 

correspondence  very  regularly  with  their  friends  of  the  out 
side  world. 

My  brief  experience  had  convinced  me  that  I  had  peculiar 
talents  for  the  kind  of  work  in  which  I  had  been  engaged 
since  the  advent  of  Butler  and  his  forces  in  New  Orleans, 
and  my  only  regret  was,  that  I  had  not  made  a  persistent 
effort  to  take  it  up  sooner.  I  determined  now,  however,  to 
qualify  myself  as  quickly  as  possible  for  the  business  of  a 
spy  and  a  bearer  of  despatches,  for  I  felt  assured  that  there 
would  be  plenty  of  employment  found  for  me  before  the  war 
was  over,  and  that  if  I  proved  myself  skilful  and  reliable,  the 
Confederate  authorities  would  avail  themselves  of  my  services 
with  an  alacrity  they  had  not  shown  when  I  was  skirmishing 
around  in  the  character  of  a  little  dandy  independent  lieuten 
ant,  seeking  to  have  a  hand  in  every  fight. 

A  DISCOURAGING  OUTLOOK. 

The  military  situation  in  some  of  its  aspects  was  gloomy 
enough.  In  the  West  we  had  occasional  successes,  but  their 
permanent  value  was  little  or  nothing,  while  the  enemy  was 
steadily  advancing  and  making  the  beleaguerment  of  the 
Confederacy  more  complete  every  day.  The  loss  of  New 
Orleans  was  a  bewildering  blow,  from  which  there  was  no 
recovery  but  by  the  retaking  of  the  city,  and  the  prospects 
that  we  would  be  able  to  do  this  very  soon  were  not  particu 
larly  promising.  In  the  mean  time  the  Federals  were  evident 
ly  working  resolutely  to  gain  possession  of  the  Mississippi 
River  throughout  its  entire  length,  and  strong  as  were  the  for 
tifications  at  Vicksburg  and  other  points,  I  had  not  that  faith 
in  their  invincibility  I  once  would  have  had.  I  had  seen  too 
many  positions  proclaimed  invincible  and  defended  with  valor, 
fall  before  the  Federal  attacks,  for  me  to  have  anything  of 
my  old-time  faith  in  the  irresistible  valor  of  Southern  soldiers 
or  the  masterly  generalship  of  Southern  commanders.  The 
old  boast  which  I  was  accustomed  to  hear  so  often  at  the  out 
break  of  the  war,  that  one  Southerner  could  whip  five  Yan 
kees,  had  turned  out  to  be  mere  boasting,  and  nothing  more. 
The  Federals,  while  they  did  not  have  all  the  dash  and  elan 
of  the  Confederates,  had  proved  their  fighting  qualities  on 
too  many  well-contested  fields  for  the  old-fashioned  talk  about 
the  superiority  of  Southern  prowess  to  be  in  order ;  and  they 
had  a  way,  when  they  once  captured  an  important  position,  of 


246         SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  PEOPLE. 

staying  there,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  dislodge  them,  that  did 
not  promise  at  all  well  for  the  future  of  the  cause. 

Were  it  not  that  the  news  from  Virginia  was  in  some  degree 
encouraging,  I  should  have  been  almost  willing  to  have  con 
cluded,  that  we  were  indeed  nearing  the  fest  ditch,  which 
some  of  our  orators  were  so  fond  of  alluding  to.  There,  how 
ever,  the  Confederate  soldiers  were  indeed  winning  laurels, 
and  the  capture  of  Richmond  was  as  apparently  as  far  off  as 
it  was  when  I  turned  my  back  upon  it  to  seek  my  fortune  in 
the  West.  If  our  brave  boys  under  Lee,  therefore,  could 
only  improve  the  summer  as  the  winter  had  been  improved  in 
the  West  by  the  Federals,  there  would  be  some  hope  that, 
after  all,  we  might  win  the  desperate  game  we  were  playing, 
and  accomplish  substantially  all  for  which  we  took  up  arms. 

EFFECTS"  OF  THE  BLOCKADE, 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  things  were  in  a  bad  way  in 
many  respects  in  the  beleaguered  Confederacy.  The  coast 
blockade  was  now  fully  established,  and  the  enemy's  lines 
were  drawn  so  close  along  the  principal  avenues  of  communi 
cation  with  the  outside  world  and  the  interior,  that  our  com 
merce  was  completely  killed,  and  our  people  were  already 
suffering  for  many  of  the  necessities  of  life,  while  the  require 
ments  of  warfare  with  a  powerful  enemy,  amply  provided 
with  resources,  were  impoverishing  them  more  and  more 
every  day.  Whole  districts  had  been  devastated  by  the 
manceuvrings  of  the  different  armies,  and  the  suffering 
among  the  poorer  classes  throughout  the  entire  South  was 
very  great,  while  many  persons,  who  were  possessed  of  ample 
wealth  before  the  war,  were  now  feeling  the  pinchings  of 
poverty,  and  were  learning  what  it  was  not  to  know  where  the 
next  meal  was  coming  from. 

It  was  truly  a  pitiable  condition  of  affairs ;  and  the  worst 
of  it  was,  that  there  was  no  promise  of  speedy  amendment. 
If  these  were  the  results  of  one  year  of  warfare,  what  would 
be  the  condition  of  things,  should  the  conflict  be  prolonged 
for  another  twelvemonth  ?  Alas  !  it  was  prolonged,  not  for 
one  more  year  merely,  but  for  three ;  and  when  the  dreadful 
day  of  total  irremediable  defeat  —  to  which  some  of  us,  at  the 
time  which  I  am  now  referring  to,  were  already  uneasily 
and  unwillingly  looking  forward — finally  came,  the  South  was 
literally  exhausted,  as  no  other  country  ever  had  been  before. 


THE   GULF    OF   MEXICO.  247 

While  I  could  not  help  reflecting  deeply  on  the  discourage 
ment  of  the  situation,  and  feeling  uneasy  with  regard  to  the 
future,  it  was  not  my  disposition  to  brood  over  possibly 
imaginary  misfortunes,  or  to  allow  myself  to  be  unnerved  by 
disasters  that  might  never  happen.  I  believed  in  making  the 
most  of  the  present,  and  I  knew  that  the  only  way  in  which 
success  ever  could  be  achieved,  would  be  by  those  who  really 
had  the  interest  of  the  cause  at  heart  laboring  incessantly, 
and  in  the  face  of  every  discouragement,  with  all  the  energy 
at  their  command.  The  difficulties  of  the  situation,  indeed, 
inspired  me  with  a  sort  of  enthusiasm  which  I  had  not  felt 
before,  and  the  particular  sort  of  duty  which  I  had  now  taken 
up  was  so  decidedly  congenial,  and  promised  to  be  so  full  of 
exciting  adventures,  that  there  was  a  positive  enjoyment  to 
be  got  from  it,  such  as  mere  campaigning  did  not  yield. 

OFF  FOB  HAVANA. 

I  started  off  for  Havana,  therefore,  in  anticipation  of  a 
particularly  pleasant  cruise,  which  would  not  only  be  ben 
eficial  to  my  health,  but  which  would  afford  me  an  agree 
able  change  of  scene,  and  at  the  same  time  give  me  facil 
ities  for  carrying  on  the  line  of  operations  I  proposed  to  the 
best  advantage. 

Leaving  the  turbulent  current  and  the  muddy  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  behind  me,  the  vessel  upon  which  I  embarked 
was  soon  ploughing  her  way  through  the  beautiful  blue  waters 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  pointed  towards  my  native  city  —  a 
city  that  I  had  not  visited  since  I  left  it  years  ago,  when  a 
child,  to  go  to  New  Orleans  for  the  purpose  of  completing  my 
education.  It  was  upon  these  waters,  and  in  their  vicinity, 
that  my  adventure-loving  ancestors  had  achieved  renown  and 
wealth  in  making  explorations  and  conquests  of  the  New  World 
discovered  by  Columbus.  Not  far  from  the  track  of  the  ship 
in  which  I  was  now  speeding  towards  Havana  had  sailed  the 
expedition  fitted  out  by  old  Governor  Don  Diego  Yalazquez, 
which  discovered  Mexico,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  bril 
liant  exploits  of  Cortez  and  his  followers,  while  the  whole 
Gulf  and  its  surrounding  shores  were  alive  with  memories 
of  the  valiant  deeds  of  the  valiant  people  of  my  father's 
race. 

Nothing  more  delightful  than  a  cruise  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
during  the  summer  season  can  be  imagined.  The  water  is 


248  BEAUTIFUL   CUBA. 

deeply,  darkly,  beautifully  blue,  —  a  blue  totally  unlike  that  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  one  of  the  loveliest  of  colors,  —  and 
to  sail  upon  the  broad  bosom  of  this  sea  of  sapphire,  for  three 
or  four  days  in  fine  weather,  with  just  breeze  enough  to  make 
the  spray  fly  from  the  tops  of  the  waves,  is  one  of  the  rarest 
enjoyments  that  life  affords.  I  certainly  enjoyed  it,  and  every 
warm  sea  breeze  that  fanned  my  cheeks  brought  health, 
strength,  and  exhilaration  of  spirits  with  it.  This  was  just 
what  I  wanted  to  revive  me  after  the  trials  and  sufferings  — 
physical  and  mental  —  of  the  past  twelve  months,  and  to  pre 
pare  me  for  the  trying  duties  yet  to  be  performed. 

APPROACHING  CUBA. 

At  length,  far  in  the  distance,  the  lofty  Cuban  highlands 
were  seen,  resting  like  a  faint  blue  cloud  on  the  horizon,  but 
taking  shape  as  we  approached,  until,  from  the  misty  outlines, 
the  mountain  forms  began  to  disclose  themselves,  and  finally 
cities,  villages,  and  even  single  houses  and  trees  were  revealed. 
It  seemed  like  going  into  another  world ;  for  anything  more 
unlike  the  low,  flat,  and  unpicturesque  country  which  I  had 
just  left,  could  scarcely  be  imagined,  and  I  not  only  felt  proud 
of  my  beautiful  native  island,  but  I  wondered  not  that  Spain 
should  cling  with  such  tenacity  to  this  the  fairest,  and  now  the 
only  really  important  portion  of  the  great  dominion  which 
her  valorous  sons  had  centuries  before  conquered  for  her  in 
the  New  World.  At  the  same  time,  I  begrudged  that  this  fair 
island  should  be  the  dependency  of  a  foreign  power ;  for  I 
was,  despite  my  Spanish  ancestry,  an  American,  heart  and 
soul,  and  if  there  was  anything  that  could  have  induced  me  to 
abandon  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  it  would  have 
been  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Cubans  to  have  liberated 
themselves  from  the  Spanish  yoke. 

As  we  approached  Cuba,  and  as  the  beautiful  island  seemed 
to  rise  out  of  the  sea  before  us,  revealing  more  and  more  of 
its  surpassing  loveliness,  I  wondered  within  myself  whether 
such  an  attempt  would  not  some  day  —  and  some  day  soon  — 
be  made,  and  more  than  half  resolved  that  should  the  Cubans 
strike  a  blow  for  independence,  I  would  join  my  fortunes  to 
theirs,  and  serve  their  cause  with  the  same  assiduity  that  I 
was  now  serving  that  of  the  Confederacy. 

After  a  voyage  which  had  been  to  me  one  of  uninterrupted 
pleasure,  our  ship  dropped  anchor  before  the  city  of  Havana. 


AT  HAVANA.  249 

No  city  on  the  globe  has  been  more  fitly  named ;  for  this  har 
bor  is  unsurpassed,  and  nestles  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
vine-clad  hills, — a  broad,  land-locked  basin,  in  which  the  navies 
of  the  world  might  float.  While  not  insensible  to  the  beauties 
of  the  spectacle  which  the  place  of  my  nativity  and  its  sur 
roundings  presented  to  the  eye,  I  was  too  full  of  other 
thoughts  just  at  that  moment  to  give  myself  up  to  the  enjoy 
ment  of  it,  as  I  might  have  done  at  another  time,  and  was  as 
eager  to  get  on  shore  and  execute  my  commission,  as  if  my 
brief  sojourn  on  shipboard  had  been  a  thraldom  to  me  instead 
of  a  source  of  real  pleasure. 

LANDING  IN  HAVANA. 

I,  therefore,  landed  at  the  earliest  possible  moment ;  and 
making  my  way  through  streets  that  seemed  strangely  famil 
iar,  and  among  people  speaking  my  native  tongue,  which 
sounded  most  oddly  after  the  long  years  since  I  had  been  ac 
customed  to  hear  it  habitually  spoken,  I  succeeded  in  finding 
the  Confederate  agent,  into  whose  trusty  hands  I  had  been 
directed  to  place  my  despatches  for  the  "  Alabama."  This 
important  commission  having  been  satisfactorily  executed,  my 
chief  responsibilities  were  at  an  end,  and  I  was  at  liberty  to 
gratify  my  curiosity  and  my  desire  to  learn  all  that  could  be 
learned  that  was  likely  to  be  of  service  to  me  in  any  future 
enterprises  in  which  I  might  be  engaged. 

I  confidently  expected  to  visit  Havana  again,  and,  perhaps, 
many  times  before  the  end  of  the  war,  and  therefore  was 
anxious  to  make  the  most  of  the  present  opportunity  for  gain 
ing  all  the  information  I  was  able  that  would  in  any  way  aid 
me  in  the  successful  prosecution  of  such  exploits  as  I  might 
hereafter  think  it  expedient  to  undertake. 

The  friends  of  the  Confederacy,  with  whom  I  was  thrown  in 
contact,  were  eager  to  obtain  all  the  news  they  could  with  re 
gard  to  the  progress  of  events,  the  present  situation  of  affairs, 
and  the  prospect  for  the  immediate  future.  I  was  able  to  tell 
them  a  great  many  things  that  surprised  them,  and  to  give 
them  much  important  information  that  would  never  have 
reached  them  through  the  ordinary  news  channels.  There 
was  much,  of  course,  that  I  did  not  tell,  for  a  great  variety  of 
reasons,  and  they  were  evidently  puzzled  to  understand  how 
I  came  to  be  possessed  of  such  extensive  and  such  accurate 
information.  I  was,  of  course,  particularly  reticent  about  the 


250  THE  BLOCKADE-RUNNING  BUSINESS. 

part  I  had  been  playing  during  a  greater  portion  of  the  past 
year,  and  represented  myself  to  be  just  what  I  then  appeared, 
—  a  woman,  who  was  engaged  in  the  perilous  task  of  running 
the  lines  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  information.  My  evident 
accomplishments,  and  my  thorough  knowledge  upon  many 
points  about  which  they  were  but  meagrely  informed,  how 
ever,  greatly  increased  their  respect  for  me,  and  enabled 
me  to  gain  confidences  that  otherwise  might  have  been 
withheld. 

IN  COMMUNICATION  WITH  CONFEDERATE  AGENTS. 

From  Messrs.  Infanta  &  Co.,  and  other  prominent  persons,  I 
succeeded  in  learning  much  that  was  well  worth  knowing ; 
and  before  the  time  came  for  me  to  say  adieu  to  Havana,  my 
brain  was  teeming  with  plans  which  I  was  all  eagerness  to 
execute.  I  found  that  the  friends  of  the  Confederacy  were 
completely  in  the  ascendent  in  Havana,  and  that  more  than 
one  of  its  capitalists  were  deeply  interested  in  the  profit 
able  but  hazardous  business  of  blockade-running;  although, 
through  a  variety  of  circumstances,  this  city  was  not  the 
headquarters  of  the  extensive  trade  which  the  misfortunes  of 
the  South  were  building  up,  and  which  promised  to  yield 
almost  fabulous  profits  should  the  war  continue  for  any  length 
of  time,  as  these  good  money-loving  people  evidently  desired 
that  it  should. 

I  could  not  help  thinking,  however,  when  I  heard  of  the 
enormous  sums  of  money  which  a  single  cargo  yielded,  in 
event  of  its  being  able  to  elude  the  Federal  cruisers  and  the 
blockading  fleet,  and  reach  a  Southern  port,  of  the  suffering 
and  impoverished  people  at  whose  expense  the  blockade- 
runners  were  heaping  up  riches,  and  I  wished  heartily  that  I 
had  some  way  of  making  them  devote  a  portion  of  their  wealth 
to  the  relief  of  the  victims  of  cruel  war,  and  to  the  advance 
ment  of  the  cause.  I  could  not  help  acknowledging,  how 
ever,  that  their  money  was  fairly  earned,  and  that  while 
accumulating  magnificent  profits  by  their  operations,  they 
were  doing  a  great  deal  in  a  certain  way  towards  sustaining 
the  Confederacy  in  the  mighty  struggles  it  was  making  for 
independence. 

The  capture  of  New  Orleans  had  been  a  great  surprise  to 
every  one  in  Havana,  as  it  doubtless  was  to  the  friends  of  the 
Confederacy  everywhere ;  and  it  was  the  cause  of  innumer- 


RETURN  TO  NEW  ORLEANS.  251 

able  and  bitter  regrets,  for  it  effectually  put  a  stop  to  blockade- 
running  in  that  quarter,  and,  consequently  cut  off  many  oppor 
tunities  for  tolerably  easy  money-making,  which  those  in  the 
business  had  hitherto  enjoyed.  Every  one  agreed  that  it  was 
by  far  the  most  damaging  blow  that  the  Federals  had  yet 
succeeded  in  striking  at  the  Confederacy,  and  not  a  few  be 
lieved  that  it  was  but  the  prelude  to  greater  disasters,  and  to 
a  final  overthrow  of  the  attempt  which  was  being  made  to 
secure  a  permanent  severance  of  the  South  from  the  North. 
All,  however,  were  agreed  that,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned, 
obedience  to  the  adage,  to  make  hay  while  the  sun  shines,  was 
the  only  true  policy ;  and  that,  while  the  perils  of  blockade- 
running  would  now  be  greatly  increased,  the  profits  were  so 
enormous  as  to  warrant  all  the  risks,  and  that  the  business  would, 
therefore,  be  prosecuted  with  more  energy  than  ever,  while  it 
would  be  necessary  to  adopt  a  more  perfect  and  certain  sys 
tem  of  communication  with  the  Confederate  authorities.  I 
was  able  to  give  a  great  number  of  valuable  hints  with  regard 
to  the  best  way  of  managing  things ;  and,  in  return,  was  sup 
plied  with  many  points  which  I  would  be  likely  to  find  useful, 
both  immediately  and  in  the  future. 

My  stay  in  Havana  was  of  short  duration ;  and  having  ac 
complished  my  errand,  and  learned  all  that  I  could,  I  proposed 
to  return  to  New  Orleans. 

BACK  IN  NEW  ORLEANS. 

The  return  trip  was  as  agreeable  as  the  one  out,  and  it 
greatly  refreshed  and  benefited  me,  so  that  when  I  again  set 
foot  on  the  levee  at  New  Orleans,  I  felt  in  better  condition 
than  I  had  been  in  for  a  long  time,  and  was  prepared  for  any 
amount  of  hard  work ;  and  of  hard  work  there  was  likely  to 
be  plenty  to  do,  for  Butler  was  tightening  his  grasp  on  the 
people,  and  was  disposed  to  make  his  rule  over  them  as  little 
gratifying  to  their  feelings  as  possible.  That  my  old  business 
of  smuggling  drugs,  and  other  matters  needed  by  the  Confed 
erates,  and  of  conveying  information  back  and  forth,  would 
have  to  be  carried  on  —  if  it  were  carried  on  at  all  —  under  a 
pressure  of  much  greater  difficulties  than  formerly,  was  soon 
very  apparent.  I  was  not  one,  however,  to  be  appalled  by 
difficulties,  but  was  rather  excited  by  them  to  exert  myself 
to  the  utmost ;  and  it  afforded  me  an  immense  amount  of 
satisfaction  that,  in  a  quiet  way,  I  would  be  able  to  accom- 


252  CIRCUMVENTING  BUTLER. 

plish  many  things  for  which  Butler  would  have  been  highly 

F  leased  to  have  strangled  me,  could  he  have  discovered  what 
was  about.  And  I  did  manage  to  do  several  tolerably  good 
strokes  of  work  before  New  Orleans  became  too  unpleasant 
a  place  for  me  to  abide  in,  and  I  was  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  best  for  me  to  take  up  my  quarters  elsewhere,  out 
side  of  Butler's  jurisdiction. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

A    DIFFICULTY    WITH    BUTLER.  —  ESCAPE    FROM    NEW 

ORLEANS. 

Butler's  Rule  in  New  Orleans.  —  A  System  of  Terrorism.  —  My  Ac 
quaintance  with  Federal  Officers.  —  I  resume  the  Business  of  carrying 
Information  through  the  Lines.  —  A  Trip  to  Robertson's  Plantation  for 
the  Purpose  of  carrying  a  Confederate  Despatch.  — A  long  Tramp  after 
Night.  —  Some  of  the  Incidents  of  my  Journey. —  The  Alligators  and 
Mosquitoes.  —  Arrival  at  my  Destination,  and  Delivery  of  the  Despatch 
to  a  Confederate  Officer.  —  My  hospitable  Entertainment  by  Friends  of 
the  Confederacy.  —  My  Return  to  New  Orleans.  —  Capture  of  the 
Bearer  of  my  Despatch,  and  my  Arrest.  —  I  am  taken  before  Butler, 
who  endeavors  to  extort  a  Confession  from  me.  —  Butler  as  a  Bully.  — 
I  refuse  to  confess,  and  am  ordered  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  Custom- 
House.  —  My  Release,  through  the  Intercession  of  the  British  Consul. 
—  I  resolve  to  leave  New  Orleans,  for  fear  of  getting  into  further 
Trouble.  —  A  Bargain  with  a  Fisherman  to  take  me  across  Lake  Pont- 
chartrain.  —  My  Escape  from  Butler's  Jurisdiction. 

WAS  astonished,  sometimes,  at  my  own  good 
luck  in  keeping  clear  of  controversies  with  the 
military  authorities ;  for  Butler  was  bent  on 
crushing  out  every  indication  of  sympathy  with 
the  Confederacy,  and  he  was  most  savage  and 
relentless  in  his  punishment  of  those  who  defied 
his  mandates  by  attempting  to  hold  communication 
with  the  Southern  soldiery,  who  were  only  waiting  for 
a  proper  opportunity  to  rescue  New  Orleans,  and  who 
were  therefore  anxious,  of  course,  to  understand  ex 
actly  how  matters  stood  in  the  city,  in  order  that  they 
might  take  advantage  of  a  suitable  moment,  if  any  should 
present,  for  relieving  its  unpopular  ruler  of  his  responsibili 
ties.  The  peculiar  situation  of  New  Orleans,  on  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  between  the  river  and  Lake  Pontchartrain,  and 
with  numerous  bayous,  lakes,  and  other  water  ways  in  close 
proximity,  was  such  as  to  make  the  passage  back  and  forth  of 
Confederate  agents  a  much  easier  matter  than  it  would  have 
been  under  some  circumstances.  It  was.  however,  a  danger- 

253 


254  DOING   DAMAGE   TO   THE   ENEMY. 

ous  business  always,  and  a  number  of  persons,  of  both  sexes, 
who  undertook  to  defy  Butler  by  communicating  with  their 
friends  in  the  interior,  or  who  employed  themselves  in  smug 
gling  goods  or  intelligence  through  the  lines,  were  caught 
and  punished  ;  sentences  calculated  to  inspire  terror  in  those 
who  were  capable  of  being  terrified  being  imposed,  without 
regard  to  the  sex  or  social  standing  of  the  offenders. 

A  favorite  punishment,  for  those  who  managed  to  fall  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  commanding  general,  was  a  sojourn, 
for  periods  of  time  varying  according  to  Butler's  notions  of 
the  gravity  of  their  offences,  on  Ship  Island,  a  desolate  strip 
of  sand  on  Mississippi  Sound,  which  had  been  used  by  the 
Federal  forces  as  a  rendezvous  before  the  attack  upon  the 
city.  Butler  was  compelled  to  live  on  this  sandbank  for  a 
number  of  months,  before  Admiral  Farragut  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  take  up  his  abode  in  one  of  the  finest  residences  of 
New  Orleans,  and  he  appeared  to  have  contracted  such  an 
intense  dislike  to  the  place,  that  he  could  imagine  no  worse 
fate  for  those  who  were  imprudent  enough  to  defy  his  will, 
than  to  send  them  there.  I  came  very  near  being  obliged  to 
make  Ship  Island  my  home  for  a  time  under  orders  from  But 
ler,  and  only  escaped  such  a  fate  through  my  address  and 
courage,  and  the  thoroughness  of  the  preparations  I  had 
made  to  meet  such  an  emergency. 

RUNNING  THE  LINES. 

Unlike  many  others,  I  settled  myself  down  resolutely  to  the 
business  of  running  the  lines,  and  was  not  satisfied  with 
making  a  trip  or  two,  and  then  either  ceasing  operations  alto 
gether,  or  else  waiting  until  suspicion  should  die  away  before 
making  another  attempt.  I  considered  myself  as  much  in  the 
Confederate  service  as  I  was  when  I  wore  the  uniform  of  an 
officer,  and  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  be,  like  a  soldier,  always  vigi 
lant,  and  always  ready  to  do  the  enemy  all  the  damage  I  pos 
sibly  could.  I  therefore  went  about  the  prosecution  of  my 
plans  systematically,  taking  all  proper  precautions,  of  course, 
to  avoid  detection,  but  trusting  a  good  deal  to  luck  and  to  my 
ready  wit  to  get  me  out  of  any  difficulty  into  which  I  might 
happen  to  fall. 

I  had  very  few  friends  or  acquaintances,  for  I  did  not  care 
to  be  extensively  known,  being  well  aware  that  the  more 
people  there  were  whose  attention  was  attracted  to  me,  the 


PICKING   UP   INFORMATION.  255 

more  likelihood  there  would  be  of  suspicion  attaching  to  my 
movements.  At  the  same  time  I  was  anxious  to  avoid  any 
appearance  of  mystery,  and  took  particular  pains  to  let  myself 
be  seen  frequently,  and  to  leave  the  impression  that  I  was 
what  I  pretended  to  be  —  a  widow,  in  reduced  circumstances, 
who  was  only  waiting  to  receive  money  from  England  in 
order  to  return  to  that  country.  I  kept  up  a  sort  of  acquaint 
ance  with  a  few  officers  of  the  Federal  army,  to  whom  I  had 
been  introduced,  which  I  was  the  more  pleased  to  do  as  they 
were  very  pleasant  gentlemen,  and  contrived,  by  frequent 
allusions  to  the  subject,  to  fix  in  their  minds  the  idea  that  I 
had  been  robbed,  and  otherwise  outrageously  maltreated  by 
the  Confederates,  and  that  the  arrival  of  the  Federals  was  a 
source  of  infinite  satisfaction  to  me. 

From  these  officers  I  sometimes  succeeded  in  obtaining 
information  that  was  worth  having  by  judiciously  keeping 
my  ears  open,  or  by  asking  an  apparently  innocent  question 
at  the  proper  moment.  I  was,  however,  very  careful  not  to 
appear  to  question  them,  or  to  do  anything  that  would  ih  the 
slightest  degree  arouse  their  suspicions.  My  acquaintance 
with  them  was  kept  up  for  the  purpose  of  having  it  under 
stood  at  headquarters,  and  among  the  officers  generally,  that 
I  was  one  of  the  few  women  in  New  Orleans  who  professed 
Union  sentiments.  My  means  of  gaining  intelligence  were 
such  as  these  gentlemen  had  little  idea  of,  and  were  of  such 
a  character  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  me  to  risk  any 
thing  by  imprudent  conversation  with  them.  Indeed,  it  was 
very  evident  sometimes,  judging  from  their  conversation,  that 
I  was  very  fully  informed  about  a  great  many  things  with 
regard  to  which  they  knew  little  or  nothing. 

I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  Butler  and  his  satellites 
ever  suspected  me,  up  to  tke  time  they  caught  me.  When 
I  was  finally  detected,  and  arraigned  before  the  general,  he 
tried  his  best  to  play  the  bully,  and  to  frighten  me  into  mak 
ing  some  admissions,  and  he  intimated  that  I  had  been  under 
surveillance  for  a  long  time.  This,  however,  was  probably  all 
brag,  or  at  least  I  chose  to  understand  it  as  such ;  and  as  I  did 
not  frighten  at  all  to  his  satisfaction,  he  did  not  succeed  in 
making  a  great  deal  out  of  me. 

Not  a  great  while  after  my  return  from  Havana,  I  under 
took  to  go  to  Robertson's  Plantation,  for  the  purpose  of  send 
ing  some  despatches,  as  well  as  some  verbal  information,  to 
the  Confederate  forces  stationed  at  Franklin.  It  was  neces- 


256  A  LONESOME  WALK. 

sary  for  me  to  make  the  trip  after  nightfall,  and  to  walk  the 
entire  distance  of  seventeen  miles;  and  that  such  a  tramp 
could  scarcely  be  a  particularly  pleasant  exercise,  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  country  around  New  Orleans  need 
not  be  reminded.  I  was  not  to  be  deterred,  however,  any 
more  by  the  personal  inconveniences  involved  in  my  under 
taking  the  expedition,  than  I  was  by  any  perils  I  was  likely 
to  encounter,  and  set  off,  therefore,  resolved  to  accomplish  my 
errand,  if  its  accomplishment  were  possible. 

A  LONG  WALK  AFTER  NIGHT. 

I  had  not  much  difficulty  in  getting  past  the  outposts,  and 
once  sure  that  I  was  out  of  sight  and  sound  of  the  Federal 
pickets,  I  started  off  at  a  steady  pace,  bent  upon  getting  over 
as  much  ground  as  I  could  before  daylight  came  and  rendered 
it  necessary  for  me  to  be  more  cautious  in  my  movements.  I 
made  pretty  good  time,  but  did  not  get  along  as  fast  as  I 
would  have  done  had  I  been  in  male  attire,  and  long  before  I 
reached  my  destination  I  heartily  wished  that  it  had  been 
possible  for  me  to  have  donned  a  masculine  habit  in  safety ; 
for  a.  woman's  skirts  are  not  adapted  for  fast  travelling  on  a 
Louisiana  highway,  on  a  sultry  summer's  night,  with  only  the 
stars  and  the  fire-flies  to  lighten  the  pathway. 

It  was  a  terribly  lonesome  walk.  After  getting  past  the 
pickets,  I  did  not  meet  with  a  single  human  being  throughout 
the  whole  of  my  long  and  weary  journey.  The  only  sounds 
to  be  heard  were  the  barking  of  the  alligators,  or  the  splash 
ing  of  one  of  these  monsters  as  he  plunged  into  the  stream  at 
my  approach.  I  was  frequently  startled  by  the  sounds  made 
by  these  horrid  animals  close  at  hand  after  a  considerable 
interval  of  silence,  but  pushed  on  resolutely  despite  them, 
and  despite  the  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  which  seemed  to  in 
crease  in  number  as  I  proceeded,  and  which  occasioned  me 
infinite  annoyance.  Whenever  I  sat  down  to  rest,  which  I 
was  compelled  to  do  a  number  of  times  before  my  journey 
was  completed,  these  venomous  insects  attacked  me  with  the 
greatest  fury,  and  my  face  and  hands  were  terribly  bitten 
before  I  was  able  to  escape  from  them.  These  were  some  of 
the  delights  of  my  long  night  walk  for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling 
my  mission  as  a  bearer  of  despatches,  and  it  was  an  immense 
relief  to  me  when,  just  about  daybreak,  I  reached  my  destina 
tion,  foot-sore  and  completely  tired  out,  but  satisfied  with 


REST   AND    REFRESHMENT.  257 

having  accomplished  my  errand  without  having  been  inter 
rupted. 

THE  DESPATCH  DELIVERED. 

I  found  some  Confederate  soldiers  preparing  to  cross  the 
lake,  and,  going  to  one  of  them,  who  seemed  to  be  in  command 
of  the  party,  I  told  him  a  number  of  things  which  I  had 
thought  it  more  prudent  not  to  commit  to  writing,  and  desired 
him  to  pass  the  word  along.  Then,  waiting  until  the  boat 
was  ready  to  set  sail,  I  gave  him  an  enclosure  containing  my 
despatches,  asking  him,  if  possible,  to  deliver  it  at  headquar 
ters,  or  if  he  was  unable  to  do  this,  to  drop  it  at  the  earliest 
moment  in  the  post-office. 

I  cautioned  him  particularly,  and  with  the  greatest  earnest 
ness,  to  be  exceedingly  careful  of  the  package,  as  it  contained 
matters  of  vital  importance,  upon  which  a  great  deal  was 
dependent.  He  promised  a  faithful  compliance  with  my 
instructions,  and  jumping  into  the  boat,  he  and  his  compan 
ions  shoved  off  from  the  shore,  and  were  soon  lost  in  the  heavy 
mist  that  rested  upon  the  surface  of  the  lake. 

My.  responsibilities,  so  far  as  the  custody  of  the  despatches 
was  concerned,  were  now  at  an  end,  and  with  a  light  heart, 
but  tired  limbs,  I  sought  some  place  where  I  could  obtain 
refreshment,  and  the  repose  I  so  badly  needed,  before  I  at 
tempted  to  return  to  the  city.  Going  to  a  house  near  by,  I 
asked  for  something  to  eat,  and  an  opportunity  to  rest  myself. 
Two  gentlemen  appeared  and  gave  me  a  very  cordial  wel 
come,  for  they  understood,  without  questioning  me,  what  my 
errand  was,  and  they  were  anxious  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
make  me  comfortable. 

FRIENDS  IN  NEED. 

I  was  in  a  most  dilapidated  condition,  and  was  anything  but 
a  presentable  object,  or  one  calculated  to  figure  with  advan 
tage  at  the  breakfast-table  of  a  respectable  family.  My 
clothing  was  heavy  with  the  night  dews,  and  my  skirts  were 
bedraggled  with  dirt ;  my  shoes  were  nearly  worn  through, 
and  were  covered  with  mud;  and,  taking  me  altogether,  I 
was  as  forlorn  a  looking  creature  as  could  be  imagined. 

My  entertainers,  however,  knew  how  to  excuse  appear 
ances;  and,  understanding  the  situation  thoroughly,  they 
would  not  permit  me  to  make  any  excuses  or  apologies,  but 
17 


258  A  SAFE   RETURN. 

insisted  on  my  accepting  such  hospitalities  as  they  had  to 
offer,  and  promised  to  procure  me  a  change  of  clothing,  so 
that  I  might  make  a  somewhat  more  presentable  figure. 

They  accordingly  gave  me  a  room  where  I  could  make  my 
toilet,  and  sent  a  servant  to  wait  on  me,  while  they  applied  to 
a  lady  of  the  neighborhood  for  some  clothing  that  I  might 
wear  while  my  own  was  being  dried  and  cleansed.  The  lady 
complied  with  their  requests  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  and 
sent  me  the  best  her  wardrobe  afforded,  being  anxious  to 
serve  me  in  any  manner  in  her  power.  As  she  was  in  entire 
sympathy  with  the  cause  for  which  I  was  laboring,  she  refused 
to  receive  any  compensation,  or  to  take  back  the  clothing, 
when,  at  nightfall,  I  prepared  to  resume  my  own,  which,  by 
diligent  brushing  and  rubbing,  had  been  gotten  into  tolerably 
good  condition  again  for  the  purpose  of  returning  to  the  city. 

A  wash,  a  change  of  garments,  and  a  substantial  breakfast 
refreshed  me  immensely,  and  made  me  feel  like  another  per 
son.  As  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  attempt  to  reach  New 
Orleans  without  running  too  many  risks  of  discovery,  or,  at 
least,  of  being  suspected,  except  under  cover  of  the  night, 
and  as  I  was  sorely  in  need  of  rest,  my  new-made  friends 
insisted  that  I  should  remain  where  I  was  until  the  proper 
time  came  for  me  to  return. 

RETURN  TO  NEW  ORLEANS. 

I  therefore  went  to  bed,  and  slept  a  good  part  of  the  day, 
and  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night  they  provided  me  with  a 
horse,  and  escorted  me  to  as  near  the  outposts  as  I  deemed  it 
safe  for  them  to  go.  On  our  way,  I  gave  them  a  number  of 
points  about  the  situation  of  things  in  New  Orleans,  and  in 
formed  them  how  they  might,  in  various  ways,  be  of  service 
to  the  Confederacy,  if  they  were  disposed  to  extend  the  active 
workers  all  the  aid  that  was  in  their  power.  When  the  time 
came  for  bidding  them  farewell,  I  thanked  them  in  the  warm 
est  manner  for  their  kindness  to  me  ;  but  they  assured  me  that 
the  obligations  were  all  on  their  side,  and  that  they  were  only 
•too  glad  to  assist,  in  any  manner  possible,  a  brave  woman,  who 
was  willing  to  venture,  as  I  had  done,  for  the  purpose  of  ad 
vancing  the  welfare  of  a  cause  which  was  a  common  one 
with  us  all. 

After  parting  with  the  gentlemen,  I  made  my  way  into  the 
city  on  foot,  being  as  successful  as  on  the  night  previous  in 


UNDER   ARREST.  259 

eluding  the  pickets.  Having  once  got  within  the  Federal 
lines  again,  I  hastened  to  the  French  market,  where  I  ob 
tained  some  breakfast,  and  where  I  remained  until  the  streets 
began  to  be  filled  with  people,  before  venturing  to  return  to 
my  room.  My  idea  was  to  have  any  one  who  might  happen 
to  take  particular  notice  of  me  think  that  I  had  been  market 
ing.  So,  soon  as  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  safe  for  me  to 
show  myself,  I  passed  up  St.  Peter  Street  to  Rampart  Street, 
and  from  thence  to  my  room.  On  reaching  my  apartment  I 
locked  myself  in,  and  went  to  bed  to  take  a  good  rest. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  I  wrote  a  note  to  one  of 
the  officers  of  the  thirty-first  Massachusetts  regiment,  whose 
acquaintance  I  had  made  shortly  after  the  Federal  occupation 
of  the  city,  and  he  very  politely  answered  it  by  calling  upon 
me.  It  was  my  intention  to  let  him  know  that  I  had  been  out 
of  the  city,  so  that,  in  case  any  one  should  have  been  making 
a  note  of  my  movements,  with  a  view  of  reporting  them  at 
headquarters,  there  would  be  somebody  on  hand  who  would 
be  able  to  give  my  version  of  the  case,  and  thus  probably 
prevent  any  investigation,  and  stifle  suspicion.  I  therefore, 
after  a  little  general  conversation,  gave  my  visitor  to  under 
stand  that  I  had  been  out  of  town ;  and  on  his  inquiring  my 
whereabouts  during  my  trip,  I  told  him  that  I  had  been  to 
Carrolton,  on  a  visit  to  a  friend.  He  believed  every  word  I 
told  him,  without  the  slightest  hesitation ;  and  after  some  fur 
ther  talk  about  matters  of  no  moment,  he  went  away,  leaving 
me  tolerably  well  satisfied  with  having  successfully  accom 
plished  my  errand,  and  with  having  taken  all  proper  precau 
tion  to  avoid  getting  into  any  trouble  about  it. 

BEFORE  BUTLER. 

Unluckily  for  me,  however,  the  very  thing  upon  which  I 
had  not  calculated,  and  which  I  had  no  power  to  prevent, 
occurred.  The  officer  to  whom  I  had  intrusted  my  despatch 
was  captured,  and  the  document  was  found  upon  his  person. 
Through  some  means,  which  I  could  not  surmise,  the  provost 
marshal  was  informed  that  I  was  the  writer  of  the  despatch, 
although  the  name  signed  to  it  was  not  the  one  he  knew  me  by. 
A  negro  was  found,  too,  who  swore  that  he  had  seen  me  walking 
along  the  river,  outside  of  the  lines,  and  the  result  was  that 
I  was  placed  under  arrest,  and  taken  before  Butler  himself. 

Butler  was  not  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw  in  my  life, 


260  BUTLER'S  TRIBUNAL. 

and  he  certainly  looked  the  tyrant  that  he  was.  It  was  a 
favorite  amusement  with  him  to  browbeat  people  who  were 
brought  before  him,  and  he  was  remarkably  skilful  in  terrify 
ing  those  who  were  weak  enough  to  submit  to  being  bullied  by 
him  into  making  just  the  admission  he  wanted  them  to  make. 
I  had  heard  a  good  deal  about  his  peculiar  methods  of  dealing 
with  those  who  had  incurred  his  displeasure  in  any  way,  and 
particularly  with  those  who  were  suspected  of  furnishing  the 
Confederates  with  information  concerning  the  situation  within 
the  Federal  lines,  and  I  was  therefore  prepared,  in  a  measure, 
for  the  ordeal  which  I  was  now  compelled  to  undergo. 

I  was  determined  to  admit  nothing  that  could  not  be  dis 
tinctly  proved  against  me,  to  sustain  to  the  last  the  character 
I  had  assumed,  and  to  fall  back  upon  the  protection  which  I 
felt  sure  my  British  papers  would  afford  me  as  a  last  resort. 
I  promised  myself  that,  so  far  as  any  attempt  to  bully  me,  or 
to  overcome  me  with  threats  were  concerned,  the  general 
would  find  me  more  than  a  match  for  him ;  and  the  only  trep 
idation  I  suffered  in  going  before  him  grew  out  of  my  un 
certainty  with  regard  to  the  extent  of  his  information  about 
my  proceedings.  I  felt,  however,  that  it  would  be  a  safe 
course  to  admit  nothing,  and  to  compel  Butler  to  produce  his 
proof,  if  he  had  any,  before  making  any  acknowledgment 
whatever. 

A  CONTEST  OF  WITS. 

Sure  enough,  when  I  was  brought  into  his  presence,  he  pro 
ceeded  on  the  theory  that  I  was  the  person  he  wanted,  and 
that  I  was  guilty  of  the  charge  made  against  me.  He  evi 
dently  thought  the  case  was  a  perfectly  plain  one,  and  that  I 
would  not  attempt  a  denial.  I,  however,  kept  cool,  and  refused 
to  look  at  the  matter  from  his  point  of  view  ;  and,  as  none  of 
the  witnesses  who  appeared  were  able  to  swear  positively  to 
my  identity  as  the  woman  who  had  acted  as  the  bearer  of  the 
despatch  found  on  the  Confederate  officer,  I  began  to  think  that 
I  was  going  to  get  clear  without  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Butler,  however,  was  not  one  from  whom  it  was  easy  to  get 
away  when  his  suspicions  were  once  aroused,  and  I  saw  plainly 
that  he  was  convinced  of  the  fact  that  he  had  captured  the 
right  person  this  time,  and  that  his  prisoner  was  a  spy  who 
had  been  giving  him  serious  annoyance.  He  was,  therefore, 
resolved  not  to  let  me  slip  through  his  fingers  if  he  could  help 
it ;  and  finding  that  he  could  not  absolutely  prove  anything 


A   CROSS- EXAMINATION   BY   BUTLER.  261 

against  me,  he  concluded  to  try  whether  it  would  not  be  pos 
sible  to  force  me  into  committing  myself. 

When,  therefore,  instead  of  ordering  my  release,  Butler 
settled  his  podgy  figure  back  in  his  chair,  and,  apparently, 
making  a  vigorous  attempt  to  look  straight  at  me  with  both 
eyes  at  once,  —  an  impossibility,  by  the  way,  —  said,  with  a 
harsh,  grating  voice,  and  with  what  was  intended  to  be  an 
intensely  satirical  manner,  "  Well,  madam,  you  have  shown 
your  hand  nicely  ;  I  have  been  wanting  you  for  some  time 
past,  and  I  propose  to  send  you  to  Ship  Island,"  — I  felt  that 
the  real  ordeal  was  but  just  commencing. 

Without  permitting  myself  to  be  disconcerted,  either  by  his 
manner  or  by  his  threat,  I  replied,  "  I  guess  not ;  the  law  does 
not  permit  you  to  sentence  any  one  on  mere  hearsay  or  belief, 
and  no  evidence  has  been  produced  against  me." 

"  Are  you  not  guilty  ?  "  said  Butler,  blinking  his  eyes,  and 
trying  to  look  as  savage  as  possible. 

"  That  is  for  you  to  prove,  if  you  intend  to  punish  me,"  I 
replied.  "  It  is  very  certain  you  have  not  succeeded  in  prov 
ing  it  yet." 

"  Come,  come,  madam,  I  don't  want  any  of  this  nonsense," 
struck  in  Butler,  sharply.  "  I  know  you,  and  your  tricks ;  and 
as  your  little  game  is  played  out,  you  might  as  well  confess, 
and  be  done  with  it." 

"  There  is  no  difficulty  about  your  finding  out  who  I  am,"  I 
retorted.  "  My  name,  and  residence,  and  circumstances  are 
well  known  to  your  officers,  and  have  been  ever  since  the 
capture  of  the  city.  You  have  no  proof  against  me,  and  I 
have  nothing  to  confess." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  continued  the  general,  "  that  you 
are  not  the  writer  of  that  letter,  or  that  you  did  not  smuggle 
it  through  the  lines  ?  " 

"  I  don't  mean  to  say  anything  about  it,"  I  answered  ;  "  and 
I  don't  mean  to  confess  what  I  didn't  do." 

By  this  time  Butler,  seeing  that  he  was  not  making  much 
headway  with  me,  began  to  get  angry,  and  he  roared  out, 
"  Well,  madam,  if  you  won't  confess  without  compulsion,  I'll 
see  whether  I  can't  compel  you.  I'm  tired  of  this  sort  of 
thing,  and  Fm  going  to  make  an  example  of  you  for  the 
benefit  of  the  other  female  spies  who  are  hanging  about  this 
city." 

I  replied,  as  cool  as  possible,  "  You  may  get  yourself  into 
trouble,  sir,  if  you  attempt  to  punish  an  innocent  woman  on  a 


262  IMPRISONMENT   IN   THE   CUSTOM   HOUSE. 

false  and  scandalous  charge  like  this,  when  there  is  not  a  par 
ticle  of  evidence  to  sustain  it." 

This  appeared  to  infuriate  Butler  more  than  ever;  and, 
turning  to  one  of  his  officers,  he  gave  an  order  that  I  should  be 
locked  up  in  a  cell  in  the  Custom  House  until  my  case  was 
investigated  further. 

When  I  heard  this  order  I  turned  to  him  with  all  the  dig 
nity  I  could  command,  and  said,  "  One  word,  sir ;  you  will 
please  to  understand  that  I  am  a  British  subject,  and  that  I 
claim  the  protection  of  the  British  flag." 

Butler,  who  displayed  a  particular  antipathy  to  foreigners, 
and  especially  to  the  English,  on  all  occasions,  blurted  out, 
"  We  will  see  about  that ;  I  don't  care  for  Johnny  Bull  j  "  and 
then  turning  to  the  officer  he  said,  "  Take  that  woman  to  the 
Custom  House." 

This  ended  the  investigation,  and  I  left  the  presence  of  the 
general,  feeling  tolerably  well  satisfied  with  having  got  the 
best  of  him  thus  far,  but  dubious  about  the  ultimate  issue  of 
the  affair,  for  I  was  confident  that  he  would  make  an  endeavor 
to  fasten  the  charge  on  me  in  such  a  manner  that  there  would 
be  no  escape  ;  and  I  knew  that  if  he  once  got  possession  of 
the  right  clew,  he  could  easily  obtain  plenty  of  evidence 
against  me ;  for,  notwithstanding  all  my  precautions,  there 
were  necessarily  a  number  of  persons  in  the  city  who  were,  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  informed  with  regard  to  my  move 
ments,  and  some  of  them,  I  feared,  might  tell  what  they  knew 
if  they  were  put  under  cross-examination,  backed  up  by  a 
liberal  use  of  threats. 

I,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  vex  myself  with  troubles 
before  they  came,  and  preserved  my  equanimity,  trusting  to 
my  usual  good  luck  to  bring  my  present  difficulties  to  a  satis 
factory  conclusion.  The  officer  in  whose  charge  I  was  placed 
was  a  gentleman  in  every  respect,  and  he  treated  me  in  the 
most  courteous  manner  while  escorting  me  to  the  Custom 
House,  apologizing  for  being  compelled  to  perform  so  unpleas 
ant  a  duty ;  and,  on  our  arrival  at  the  building  which  was  to 
serve  as  my  prison,  he  procured  a  nice  camp  bed  for  my  cell, 
and  in  other  ways  tried  to  make  me  as  comfortable  as  cir 
cumstances  would  permit.  He  ordered  that  my  meals  should 
be  sent  me  regularly,  and  promised  that  an  effort  would  be 
made  to  prevent  my  incarceration  from  being  any  more  un 
pleasant  than  was  absolutely  necessary. 

The  behavior  of  this  gentleman  was  in  striking  contrast  to 


GETTING  THE  BEST  OF  BUTLER.  263 

that  of  his  chief,  and  I  felt  very  grateful  to  him,  as  I  did,  also, 
to  several  unknown  ladies,  who  sent  me  a  number  of  little 
luxuries  that  aided  materially  in  making  my  imprisonment 
endurable.  Before  the  officer  left  me,  I  asked  him  if  I  could 
not  be  permitted  to  have  the  use  of  writing  materials.  He 
said  that  he  had  no  authority  to  grant  such  a  request,  but  that 
he  would  see  what  could  be  done  for  me,  as  it  would  give  him 
pleasure  to  oblige  me  by  every  means  in  his  power. 

A  friend  of  mine,  Sergeant  B.,  hearing  that  I  was  impris 
oned,  came  to  see  me,  and  on  my  expressing  a  great  desire  to 
have  some  pens,  ink,  and  paper,  he  promised  to  procure  them 
and  slip  them  in  to  me.  He  also  said  that  he  would  carry  any 
message  I  might  desire  to  send  to  my  friends  outside.  I 
thanked  him,  and  requested  him  to  try  and  let  me  have  some 
writing  materials  as  soon  as  possible.  He  therefore  procured 
them,  and  I  immediately  wrote  a  note  to  Mr.  Coppell,  the  British 
consul,  in  which  I  explained  my  situation  briefly,  and  asked 
his  assistance. 

Mr.  Coppell  called  upon  me  at  once,  and  I,  claiming  that  I 
was  a  British  subject,  and  under  imprisonment  by  General 
Butler's  personal  order,  although  nothing  whatever  had  been 
proven  against  me,  asked  his  protection  and  his  influence  for 
a  release  without  more  delay.  He  promised  to  do  what  he 
could  for  me,  and  asked  for  my  proofs  of  British  citizenship.  I 
therefore  gave  him  my  trunk  key  and  the  number  of  my  room, 
with  a  description  of  the  papers  I  had  purchased  in  view  of 
just  such  an  emergency  as  this,  and  he  having  obtained  them 
went  to  Butler's  headquarters  to  demand  my  liberation. 

EELEASED  FROM  PRISON. 

I  do  not  know  what  passed  between  the  consul  and  the 
general,  but  the  result  of  the  interview  was  an  order  for  my 
release,  and  I  accordingly  walked  out  of  the  Custom  House 
under  Mr.  Coppell's  escort,  and  with  all  the  rebel  in  me  ex 
ultant  at  having  got  the  better  of  Butler. 

I  understood  plainly  that  my  operations  as  a  spy  in  New 
Orleans  were  now  at  an  end,  and  that  the  safest  and  best 
thing  I  could  do,  if  I  did  not  want  to  get  into  further  trouble, 
would  be  to  leave  the  city  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
There  was,  however,  no  longer  any  necessity  for  keeping  my 
rebel  sympathies  concealed,  and  I  was  really  glad  of  an  oppor 
tunity  to  let  them  be  seen.  As  we  were  going  out  of  the 


264  PREPARING  TO   LEAVE. 

Custom  House  I  heard  some 'one  bragging  how  they  were  going 
to  thrash  Johnny  Bull,  and  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
of  turning  to  Mr.  Coppell,  who  must  also  have  heard  the  remark, 
and  saying,  "  That  fellow  must  be  crazy.  He  and  his  friends 
had  better  wipe  out  secession  first,  before  they  talk  about 
whipping  Johnny  Bull."  I  said  this  loud  enough  for  everbody 
to  hear  me,  and  it  made  the  speaker  and  others  around  us 
furious,  and  elicited  several  retorts,  at  which  we  only  laughed. 
This  was  a  foolish  proceeding  on  my  part,  but  I  could  not  help 
taking  a  bit  of  womanly  revenge  on  my  enemies  for  what  they 
had  done  to  me. 

Having  obtained  my  freedom  again,  I  prepared  to  forsake 
New  Orleans,  and  applied  for  a  pass.  This,  however,  was  re 
fused  me ;  and  I  saw  that  if  I  intended  to  get  out  of  Butler's 
power  so  as  to  be  able  to  resume  operations  either  as  a  spy  or 
as  a  Confederate  officer,  it  would  be  necessary  for  ,me  to  run 
the  blockade.  Situated  as  I  was,  and  under  suspicion  of  being 
a  spy,  this,  I  was  well  aware,  would  be  a  particularly  risky 
thing  to  attempt;  but  there  was  no  alternative  left  me  except 
to  either  attempt  it,  or  else  remain  in  the  city  in  idleness,  and  in 
constant  danger  of  having  some  of  my  many  previous  transac 
tions,  in  the  way  of  carrying  information  to  the  Confederates, 
found  out.  I  felt  very  certain  that  if  Butler  did  succeed  in 
discovering  who  I  was,  and  in  fastening  upon  me,  beyond  a 
doubt,  any  charge  of  a  similar  nature  to  the  one  I  had  just 
eluded,  I  would  not  get  off  so  easily  as  I  had  done  in  my  first 
controversy  with  him,  and  I  therefore  concluded  that  I  ran  a 
greater  risk  in  remaining  in  New  Orleans  than  I  did  in  at 
tempting  to  leave  it  surreptitiously. 

Having  made  up  my  mind  to  leave,  and  to  leave  as  expedi- 
tiousiy  as  I  conveniently  could,  I  proceeded  to  make  the 
necessary  arrangements,  taking  care  to  attract  as  little  atten 
tion  as  possible.  The  provisioning  of  New  Orleans  was  a 
serious  problem  with  the  military  rulers  of  the  city ;  and  in 
order  to  keep  the  markets  supplied,  even  in  a  moderate  de 
gree,  with  the  necessities  of  life,  they  were  compelled  to 
permit  some  intercourse  with  the  surrounding  country,  and 
boats  for  the  conveyance  of  food  even  ran  between  New  Or 
leans  and  Mobile,  under  certain  stringent  regulations,  which, 
however,  were  unable  to  prevent  them  from  being  used  by 
the  agents  of  the  Confederate  States  in  a  manner  that  Butler 
did  not  approve.  Communication,  therefore,  between  the 
city  and  country  was  always  possible,  although  to  attempt 


A   BARGAIN  WITH   A   FISHERMAN.  265 

anything  of  the  kind  without  a  pass,  subjected  the  wayfarer  to 
a  liability  of  being  suspected  and  punished  as  a  spy. 

I  had  made  a  goodly  number  of  trips  in  different  directions, 
sometimes  with  passes  and  sometimes  without,  and  conse 
quently  knew  exactly  how  to  proceed,  and  what  were  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome.  The  chief  danger  to  be  appre 
hended  I  knew  would  be  from  the  Federal  patrols,  who  were 
becoming  more  and  more  vigilant  every  day,  as  resolute  ef 
forts  were  being  made  to  break  up  the  Confederate  spy  sys 
tem,  and  the  illicit  traffic  which  many  persons  of  both  sexes 
were  engaged  in  carrying  on,  to  the  great  discomfort  of  the 
Federal  occupants  of  the  city.  I  had  also  something  to  fear 
lest  any  agent  whom  I  might  employ  to  aid  me  in  making  my 
escape  should  prove  treacherous,  either  through  hope  of  gain 
or  a  desire  to  win  the  favor  of  Butler.  On  this  last  score, 
however,  I  had  comparatively  few  apprehensions,  as  I  was 
prepared  to  pay  a  good  round  sum  to  any  one  who  would  be 
willing  to  perform  for  me  the  services  I  needed,  and  I  knew 
well  that  some  of  the  stanchest  adherents  of  the  Confederacy 
were  to  be  found  among  the  poor  white  population  of  New 
Orleans  and  vicinity.  I  knew  that  if  I  could  once  make  the 
other  side  of  Lake  Pontchartrain  I  would  be  safe,  and  that 
there  would  be  fewer  risks  to  run  in  attempting  an  escape  in 
that  direction  than  in  any  other.  I  accordingly  laid  my  plans 
for  a  trip  across  the  lake,  with  a  view  of  striking  a  point  near 
the  railroad,  so  that  I  could  reach  Jackson  with  the  least  in 
convenience. 

Going  down  to  the  lake,  I  found  a  fisherman  who  was  pur 
suing  his  avocation  under  a  permit  from  Butler,  and  taking 
advantage  of  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  him  when  our  conver 
sation  could  not  be  overheard,  I  asked,  "  Do  any  rebels  ever 
cross  the  lake  without  papers  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  sometimes." 

"Do  you  think  that  you  could  take  me  over  if  I  were  to 
make  it  worth  your  while  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Are  you  a  reb  ?  "  he  questioned,  looking  at  me  sharply. 

"  They  say  I  am,"  I  answered. 

"  Well,  I  might  take  you  over  if  you  will  pay  enough." 

"  I'll  give  you  a  good  deal  more  than  you  can  get  for  any 
job  you  do  for  the  Federals." 

"  All  right,  then,"  said  he  ;  and  without  more  argument  we 
struck  a  bargain,  and  arranged  time  and  place  of  meeting,  my 
boatman  giving  me  some  directions  how  to  proceed  so  as  to 


266  ESCAPE  FROM  NEW   ORLEANS. 

avoid  attracting  attention,  from  which  I  inferred  that  this 
was  not  the  first  time  he  had  been  engaged  in  running  the 
blockade. 

Going  home,  I  put  on  two  complete  suits  of  clothing,  as  it 
would  not  have  answered  for  me  to  have  carried  any  baggage, 
or  even  a  small  package,  and  secreted  about  my  person  all  the 
Confederate  money  I  had  purchased,  about  nine  thousand  dol 
lars  in  greenbacks,  and  my  jewelry.  At  the  appointed  time  I 
was  at  the  rendezvous,  and  saw  my  boatman  waiting.  Fear 
ful,  however,  of  being  apprehended  just  as  I  was  about  to 
start,  I  did  not  show  myself  at  first,  but  crept  cautiously 
through  the  bushes  until  I  could  see  whether  any  one  was 
observing  my  movements.  Finding  the  coast  apparently 
clear,  I  made  a  signal  to  the  man,  and  he  approached  and  took 
me  into  the  boat. 

GETTING  AWAY  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS. 

In  a  moment  more  the  sail  was  hoisted,  and  we  were  speed 
ing  over  the  lake  before  a  good  breeze,  which  promised,  ere  a 
great  while,  to  waft  me  beyond  Butler's  jurisdiction,  and 
enable  me  once  more  to  give  the  Confederacy  the  benefit  of 
my  services. 

I  had  a  reasonable  amount  of  confidence  in  the  fidelity  of 
the  boatman,  but  at  the  same  time  was  determined  to  be  pre 
pared  against  any  attempt  at  treachery  on  his  part.  I  had, 
accordingly,  provided  myself  with  a  six-shooter,  and  had  taken 
pains  to  see  that  it  was  loaded,  and  all  in  condition  for  instant 
use,  before  leaving  my  room.  On  taking  my  seat  in  the  boat 
I  placed  my  hand  on  this  weapon,  and  was  resolved  to  put  it 
to  the  head  of  the  man  if  he  showed  the  slightest  indication  of 
a  desire  to  betray  me.  I  had  no  fancy  for  a  sojourn  on  Ship 
Island,  and  would,  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  have  used 
my  revolver  freely  before  submitting  to  a  capture.  The  man, 
however,  was  faithful  enough,  and  with  the  prospect  of  a 
liberal  reward  before  him,  he  was  only  eager  to  reach  the  other 
side  of  the  lake  as  soon  as  he  could,  and  to  avoid  the  Federal 
patrols  in  doing  so. 

Fortune  favored  us,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  were 
out  of  the  reach  of  immediate  danger,  and  in  a  fair  way  to 
make  the  Mississippi  shore  without  being  interfered  with.  On 
landing  I  paid  the  boatman  his  money,  according  to  the  bar 
gain  I  had  made  with  him,  and  started  off  for  the  nearest  rail- 


OUT   OF   DANGER.  267 

road  station  for  the  purpose  of  going  to  Jackson.  Thus  ended 
my  career  in  New  Orleans  as  a  Confederate  spy.  It  was  a 
successful  one,  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  but  I  was 
not  sorry  to  get  away,  and  considered  myself  fortunate  in 
being  able  to  make  my  escape  with  as  much  ease  as  I  did. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 
CARRYING    DESPATCHES. 

Uncertainties  of  the  Military  Situation.  —  I  go  to  Jackson,  Mississippi.  — 
Burning  of  the  Bowman  House  in  that  place  by  Breckenridge's  Sol 
diers.  —  The  unpleasant  Position  in  which  Non-combatants  were  placed. 

—  A  Visit  to  the  Camp  of  General  Dan.  Adams,  and  Interview  with 
that   Officer.  —  I    visit   Hazlehurst,  and    carry  a  Message  to  General 
Gardner  at  Port  Hudson.  —  Recovery  of  my  Negro  Boy  Bob.  —  General 
Van  Dorn's  Raid  on  Holly  Springs.  —  I  resolve  to  Return  to  Virginia. 

—  The  Results  of  two  Years  of  Warfare.  —  Dark  Days  for  the  Con 
federacy.  —  Fighting  against  Hope. 

N  leaving  New  Orleans  I  had  no  very  definite 
plans  for  the  immediate  future,  my  hurried 
departure,  as  well  as  my  la'ck  of  knowledge 
with  regard  to  the  exact  details  of  the  military 
situation,  having  prevented  me  from  forming 
any.  I  was,  therefore,  rather  at  a  loss  exactly  how  to 
proceed,  but  did  not  doubt  of  my  ability  to  find  a  field 
for  the  display  of  my  talents  ere  a  great  while.  I  was 
now  more  intent  than  ever  upon  being  employed  on 
detective  and  scouting  duty,  for  which  my  recent  resi 
dence  in  New  Orleans  had  been  an  excellent  school 
ing  ;  so  excellent,  indeed,  that  I  considered  myself  as  well  out 
of  my  apprenticeship,  and  as  quite  competent  to  assume  all 
the  responsibilities  of  the  most  difficult  or  dangerous  jobs  that 
might  be  thrust  upon  me. 

I  did  not  doubt  that  there  would  be  plenty  of  work  for  me 
to  do,  for  throughout  the  entire  West  military  matters  seemed 
to  be  in  a  very  mixed  condition,  and  the  different  armies,  both 
Confederate  and  Federal,  so  broken  up  and  scattered,  that  it 
must  have  taxed  the  energies  of  the  commanding  officers  on 
both  sides  to  have  kept  the  run  of  each  other's  movements. 
The  Federals,  by  their  victories  at  Fort  Donelson  and  Shiloh, 
and  several  other  points,  had  succeeded  in  forcing  both  the 
first  and  second  Confederate  lines  of  defence,  and  in  penetrat 
ing  to  the  heart  of  the  portion  of  the  Confederacy  west  of 

268 


BETWEEN   TWO    FIRES.  269 

the  mountains,  but  they  had  not  been  able  to  complete  the 
conquest  they  were  aiming  at ;  and  the  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  —  that  coveted  prize  for  both  parties  —  was  some 
thing  for  which  there  was  still  to  be  done  some  hard  fighting. 

I  judged  that  matters  ought  soon  to  be  approaching  a  crisis 
somewhere,  although  exactly  what  definite  aims  the  belligerents 
were  driving  at,  if,  indeed,  they  had  any  just  then,  I  could 
not  comprehend.  I  resolved,  if  a  grand  movement  of  any 
kind  was  coming  off,  that  I  must  have  a  hand  in  it  in  some 
shape ;  but  that  if  something  of  importance  was  not  attempted 
before  a  great  while  I  would  return  to  Virginia,  and  see  what 
fortune  had  in  store  for  me  there.  I  judged,  however,  that 
I  would  not  have  much  difficulty  in  finding  work  to  do  in  the 
west,  if  I  went  about  looking  for  it  in  the  right  way ;  and  I 
knew  of  no  better  locality  in  which  to  seek  the  information  I 
needed  before  commencing  operations  in  the  field  again  than 
Jackson. 

To  Jackson,  therefore,  I  went,  with  what  haste  I  could,  and 
arrived  just  in  time  to  witness  an  occurrence  for  which  I  was 
sincerely  sorry.  This  was  the  burning  of  the  Bowman  House 
by  Breckenridge's  men,  who  were  infuriated  at  being  told  that 
the  proprietor  had  permitted  the  Federals  to  occupy  the  hotel, 
and  that  he  had  entertained  them  at  one  third  less  than  he 
had  charged  the  Confederates  who  had  claimed  his  hospitali 
ties.  The  unfortunate  man  was  in  reality  not  to  blame  in  the 
matter,  for  the  Federals  had  occupied  his  house  without  his 
consent,  and  he  had  taken  just  what  they  chose  to  give 
him,  thinking  it  better  to  pocket  less  than  his  dues  than  noth 
ing  ;  and  fearing  to  make  any  complaint,  either  about  their 
presence  in  the  hotel,  or  the  money  they  offered  him,  lest 
they  should  take  it  into  their  heads  to  play  him  some  such 
trick  as  the  Confederates  subsequently  did. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  OF  NON-COMBATANTS. 

This  incident  will  serve  to  show  the  desperately  unpleasant 
position  of  the  non-combatants  throughout  this  whole  region 
at  this  and  later  periods  of  the  war.  They  were  literally 
between  two  fires;  and  no  matter  how  peaceably  disposed  they 
might  be,  they  could  satisfy  neither  party,  and  were  made  to 
suffer  by  both.  The  proprietor  of  the  "Bowman  House  was 
forced  to  witness  a  fine  property  destroyed  before  his  eyes 
through  the  reckless  and  unthinking  anger  of  men  who  never 


270  A   TALK   WITH   GENERAL   ADAMS. 

stopped  to  inquire  whether  he  was  guilty  or  not  of  any 
offence  against  them  or  their  cause  before  taking  vengeance 
upon  him.  He  was  reduced  to  poverty  by  the  burning  of  his 
hotel,  and  I  could  not  help  feeling  the  keenest  regret  for  the 
occurrence,  although  I  recognized  it  as  one  of  the  inevitable 
calamities  of  warfare. 

I  was,  myself,  in  the  hotel  when  it  was  fired,  and  barely 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  building  with  my  life.  Not 
expecting  any  such  occurrence,  I  had  taken  rooms,  and  was 
proceeding  to  make  myself  comfortable,  when,  all  of  a  sudden, 
I  found  that  it  was  in  flames,  and  that  it  would  be  as  much  as 
I  could  do  to  get  out  unscathed.  The  men  who  fired  the 
building  did  not  give  the  proprietor  an  opportunity  to  make 
explanations,  or  if  they  did,  they  refused  to  believe  him. 
Knowing  what  the  passions  of  men  engaged  in  warfare  are, 
and  how  little  consideration  they  are  disposed  to  give  those 
who  are  suspected  of  aiding  the  enemy,  I  was  not  altogether 
surprised  at  this  action,  but  I  thought  the  officers  in  command 
might  have  succeeded  in  restraining  their  soldiers  until  the 
exact  truth  of  the  matter  could  have  been  ascertained. 

The  next  day  after  this  occurrence  I  visited  the  camp  of 
General  Dan.  Adams,  from  whom  I  gained  a  number  of  points 
which  were  useful  to  me  in  making  my  arrangements  for  the 
future.  He  gave  me  a  tolerably  definite  idea  of  how  things 
stood,  and  advised  me  what  course  to  take  if  I  wanted  to  go 
into  active  service  again.  Among  other  things,  he  said  it  was 
understood  that  the  Federal  General  Grierson  was  on  a 
raid  in  the  direction  of  Natchez,  but  he  thought  he  would 
most  likely  have  a  speedy  stop  put  to  that  kind  of  perform 
ance.  As  for  himself,  he  told  me  that  he  had  been  ordered  to 
re -enforce  General  Joe  Johnston  at  Big  Black,  and  that  he 
expected  to  start  for  that  point  shortly.  Exactly  what  was 
on  foot  he  did  not  know,  but  thought  it  likely  that  the  Federals 
were  about  to  make  an  attempt  on  Yicksburg,  and  that  John 
ston  intended  to  be  well  prepared  to  receive  them  in  his  best 
style. 

Several  times  already  had  the  Federals  made  attacks  of 
greater  or  less  importance  on  Yicksburg,  which  city  was  now 
the  most  important  position  held  by  the  Confederacy,  and 
commanding  the  Mississippi  River  as  it  did,  its  possession  was 
considered  a  matter  of  the  most  vital  importance.  The  fall 
of  Yicksburg,  everybody  knew,  would  practically  give  the 
Federals  possession  of  the  river  throughout  its  entire  length ; 


BOB   TURNS   UP   AGAIN.  271 

and  as  such  a  calamity  would,  just  at  this  particular  junction, 
be  an  even  greater  blow  to  the  Confederate  cause  than  the 
fall  of  New  Orleans  had  been,  every  exertion  was  being  made 
to  render  it  impregnable.  That  sooner  or  later  the  Federals 
would  make  a  more  determined  effort  than  they  had  done 
previously  to  take  this  post,  appeared  to  be  certain ;  but  the 
natural  advantages  of  the  position  were  such,  and  the  fortifi 
cations  in  course  of  construction  were  so  strong,  and  were 
being  rendered  stronger  with  each  succeeding  day,  that  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  garrison  to  hold  it  was 
felt  by  every  one. 

This  confidence,  unfortunately,  was  as  ill-founded  as  had 
been  that  felt  with  regard  to  other  posts  ;  and  although  the 
siege  of  Yicksburg  was  a  heavy  task  for  the  Federals  to 
undertake,  they  did  undertake  it,  and  they  succeeded  in  their 
efforts  after  a  protracted  and  desperate  conflict,  in  which  the 
Confederates,  although  ultimately  compelled  to  surrender,  won 
fresh  laurels  for  their  pertinacity  in  fighting,  until  all  hope  of 
prolonging  the  contest  was  gone. 

Having  heard  all  that  General  Adams  had  to  say,  I  took  the 
train  for  Hazlehurst,  and  from  there  I  went  to  a  portion  of 
Logan's  command  and  took  a  look  at  things,  stopping  all 
night  with  the  family  of  Mayor  Wallis.  It  was  here  that 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Blackburn,  of  General  Grierson's  com 
mand,  was  killed  subsequently,  when  that  Federal  officer  made 
his  great  raid  in  April,  1863. 

From  Hazlehurst  I  pushed  on  towards  Port  Hudson  with  a 
message  for  General  Gardner,  but  was  met  at  Clinton  by  the 
special  courier  of  that  commander,  and  delivering  the  message 
to  him,  I  hastened  back  to  Jackson. 

On  my  arrival  at  Jackson  I  heard  of  my  negro  boy  Bob, 
for  the  first  time  since  I  had  lost  him,  just  after  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  I  therefore  proceeded  to  Grenada,  where  I  found  the 
darkey,  who  appeared  to  be  heartily  glad  to  see  me  again 
after  such  a  long  separation.  Bob,  it  seems,  had  gone  plump 
into  a  Federal  camp,  having  missed  his  road,  after  I  had 
started  him  off  for  Corinth ;  but  not  liking  the  company  he 
found  there,  had  slipped  away  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  and 
had  wandered  about  in  a  rather  aimless  manner  for  some  time, 
seeking  for  me.  Not  being  able  to  hear  anything  of  me,  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  I  was  dead,  and  was  quite  surprised 
to  see  me  turn  up  again  alive  and  well. 


272  RETURNING  TO  VIRGINIA. 

At  Jackson  I  found  General  Lowering  in  command,  and 
heard  that  General  Yan  Dorn  had  surprised  the  Federals  at 
Holly  Springs,  and  had  captured  the  entire  force  there,  and 
an  immense  quantity  of  supplies  of  every  description.  This 
event  took  place  on  the  20th  of  April,  1863,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  affairs  of  the  whole  campaign.  The  Federals 
had  made  Holly  Springs  a  base  of  supplies,  and  had  collected 
there  everything  that  was  needed  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
army  in  the  operations  against  Yicksburg ;  but  Van  Dorn,  by 
one  bold  and  skilfully  executed  movement,  succeeded  in  giving 
the  impoverished  Confederates  provisions  and  munitions  of 
war  which  they  sorely  needed,  and  in  damaging  the  Federals 
more  than  a  hard-fought  battle  would  have  done. 

FACING  EASTWARD  AGAIN. 

From  Grenada,  I  returned  once  more  to  Jackson,  and  found 
the  place  in  considerable  excitement  over  the  prospective 
army  movements ;  but  as  there  did  not  seem  to  be  much  for 
me  to  do  in  the  particular  line  of  business  I  desired  to  take 
up,  I  now  determined  to  put  my  old  intention  of  returning  to 
Virginia  into  execution ;  and  as  having  once  made  up  my  mind 
to  a  certain  line  of  action,  I  was  not  in  the  habit  of  long 
delaying  over  it,  I  was  soon  speeding  eastward  again  on  my 
way  to  Richmond. 

I  should  have  mentioned,  that  after  leaving  New  Orleans,  I 
resumed  male  attire  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and 
figured  once  more  as  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford.  Perhaps 
if  I  had  gone  to  General  Johnston,  or  some  other  commanding 
officer  of  high  rank,  and  frankly  stated  that  I  was  a  woman, 
giving  at  the  same  time  a  narrative  of  my  exploits,  and  fur 
nishing  references  as  guarantees  of  the  truthfulness  of  my 
story,  I  would  have  obtained  the  kind  of  employment  I  was 
looking  for,  with  permission  to  use  the  garments  of  either  sex, 
as  I  might  deem  expedient  for  the  particular  errand  I  had  in 
hand.  I  sometimes  thought  that  this  was  what  I  should  have 
done ;  but  I  could  not  overcome  my  repugnance  to  making 
any  one  a  confidant  of  my  secret,  even  if  by  so  doing  I 
would  have  advanced  my  own  interests.  In  the  then  condi 
tion  of  affairs,  when  the  different  commands  were  fully  organ 
ized  and  disciplined,  my  position  as  an  independent  was  even 
more  anomalous  than  it  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  war, 


UNFRUITFUL  EXPERIENCES.  273 

and  as  in  the  conduct  of  the  peculiar  operations  then  in 
progress,  the  generals  were  necessarily  obliged  to  be  particu 
lar  in  whom  they  confided,  it  was  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at 
that  one  who,  like  myself,  was  endeavoring  to  play  the  part 
of  a  free-lance,  should  receive  comparatively  little  counte 
nance. 

I  appreciated  the  situation,  and  yet  I  could  not  help  being 
disappointed,  that  one  who  had  done  so  well  by  the  Con 
federacy  as  myself,  and  who  was  so  willing  to  undertake  diffi 
cult  and  hazardous  tasks,  should  get  such  little  encouragement, 
and  so  I  resolved  to  abandon  the  west,  for  the  present  at 
least.  In  Virginia,  I  thought  that  I  would  be  likely  to  have  a 
better  chance  for  distinguishing  myself,  if  only  for  the  reason 
that  the  operations  of  the  contending  forces  were  confined 
to  a  more  limited  space  than  they  were  in  the  region  I  was 
leaving.  I  had  an  idea,  too,  that  in  case  my  claims  to  con 
sideration  at  the  hands  of  the  authorities  were  not  admitted 
with  the  promptness  I  desired,  I  would  be  able  to  do  some 
business  in  the  way  of  running  through  the  lines  on  my  own 
account,  just  for  my  own  satisfaction,  and  for  the  sake  of 
showing  what  I  was  capable  of. 

Once  past  the  Confederate  pickets,  I  believed  that  I  could 
easily  reach  Washington ;  and  I  felt  certain  that  a  skilful  spy, 
such  as  I  esteemed  myself  now  to  be,  could,  without  great 
difficulty,  find  out  plenty  of  things  which  the  Richmond 
authorities  would  be  glad  to  know,  and  for  the  furnishing  of 
which  they  would  be  glad  to  extend  me  such  recognition  as 
I  desired.  The  military  situation  in  Virginia,  too,  was  more 
satisfactory  than  it  was  in  the  west,  and  I  had  a  hankering  to 
be  where  the  Confederates  were  occasionally  winning  some 
victories.  Since  I  had  been  in  the  west,  I  had  witnessed 
little  else  than  disaster,  and  I  greatly  desired  to  take  a  hand 
in  a  fight  when  the  victory  would  rest  with  the  Confederates, 
if  only  for  the  sake  of  variety. 

My  experiences  since  leaving  New  Orleans  had  not  been 
particularly  fruitful,  for  although  I  performed  several  services 
in  satisfactory  style  for  officers  to  whose  notice  I  brought 
myself,  no  opportunity  had  offered  for  me  to  do  anything  of 
special  moment,  or  to  show  the  full  extent  of  my  capabilities, 
and,  as  there  did  riot  seem,  from  the  condition  things  were  in, 
that  anything  was  to  be  gained  by  remaining,  I  was  not  sorry 
to  leave  for  the  scene  of  my  first  exploits  as  a  Confederate 
soldier. 

18 


274  THE   SITUATION   AT   THE   END    OF   TWO   YEARS. 

The  war  had  now  been  in  progress  nearly  two  years,  and, 
although  the  South  had  not  been  conquered,  affairs  were 
beginning  to  look  decidedly  blue  for  us.  All  our  fine  expecta 
tions  of  an  easy  achievement  of  our  independence  had  long 
since  vanished,  and  the  situation  every  day  was  getting  more 
and  more  desperate.  The  country  was  becoming  exhausted, 
and  had  not  its  natural  resources  been  enormous,  our  people 
must,  ere  this,  have  given  up  the  contest.  As  it  was,  with  a 
large  portion  of  the  male  population  in  the  field,  and  with 
heavy  drafts  being  constantly  made  upon  it  to  fill  the  ranks  of 
the  armies,  the  cultivation  of  the  ground  was  neglected,  and 
the  necessities  of  life  every  day  became  scarcer  and  dearer. 
We  were  shut  out,  too,  owing  to  the  stringency  of  the  Federal 
blockade,  from  anything  like  regular  intercourse  with  Europe, 
and  all  kinds  of  manufactured  articles,  and  the  food  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  import,  were  held  at  such  enormous 
figures,  that  they  were  utterly  beyond  the  reach  of  any  but 
the  most  wealthy.  The  suffering  among  the  poorer  classes  in 
all  parts  of  the  South  was  very  great,  and  in  those  portions 
which  had  been  devastated  by  the  tramp  of  the  different 
armies,  many  of  the  people  were  very  nearly  on  the  verge 
of  starvation. 

A  SERIOUS  QUESTION. 

It  was  fast  becoming  a  serious  question,  how  long  the  con 
test  could  be  prolonged,  unless  some  signal  advantage  could 
speedily  be  achieved  in  the  field  by  the  Confederate  forces. 
It  is  impossible  to  express  in  words  how  eagerly  all  classes 
looked  for  the  achievement  of  some  such  advantage,  and  how 
bitter  was  the  disappointment,  as  month  after  month  wore 
away,  and  in  spite  of  occasional  victories,  the  people  saw, 
day  by  day,  the  Federals  drawing  their  lines  closer  and 
closer,  and  slowly,  but  surely,  closing  in  upon  them. 

We  were  now  entering  upon  the  desperate  stage  of  the 
war,  when  the  contest  was  conducted  almost  against  hope, 
and  had  the  South  been  inhabited  by  a  less  determined  race, 
or  one  less  animated  by  a  fixed  resolve  to  fight  to  the  very 
last,  and  until  it  was  impossible  to  fight  any-  longer,  the 
Federal  forces  would  have  succeeded  long  ere  they  did  in 
compelling  a  surrender  of  the  Confederate  armies.  The  men 
who  commanded  the  armies,  however,  were  not  the  sort  to 
give  up  until  they  were  absolutely  defeated,  and  it  was  starva 
tion,  rather  than  the  Federal  arms,  that  at  length  forced  the 


THE   SPLENDID    COURAGE    OF   THE    CONFEDERATES.  275 

contest  to  the  conclusion  it  reached,  by  the  surrender  of  the 
armies  under  the  command  of  Lee  and  Johnston. 

Bad  as  was  the  situation  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing, 
and  worse  as  it  was  shortly  made  by  the  surrender  of  Vicks- 
burg,  and  other  disasters  in  the  west,  and  by  the  lamentable 
conclusion  of  Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Confeder 
ates  fought  on  for  two  years  longer,  with  a  heroic  contempt 
for  defeat,  that  won  for  them  the  admiration  of  the  world. 
History  does  not  record  any  such  magnificent  resistance  as 
the  South  made  ;  and  however  opinions  may  differ  with  regard 
to  the  original  merit  of  the  quarrel,  not  even  the  bitterest 
enemies  of  the  Confederate  cause  can  refuse  to  admit  that  it 
was  defended  with  splendid  courage. 

But  it  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  produce  a  history  of  the 
war.  The  story  of  the  great  contest  has  been  written  by  abler 
pens  than  mine.  I  only  aim  at  giving  in  plain  language  an 
unadorned  narrative  of  the  personal  experiences  of  a  single 
adherent  of  the  Confederacy  —  experiences  which  gain  their 
chief  interest  from  the  fact  that  they  were  different  in  a 
marked  degree  from  those  of  any  other  participant  in  the  war 
on  either  side,  and  I  can  only  hope  that  the  story  of  my 
adventures  has  proved  sufficiently  attractive  to  the  reader  to 
induce  a  perusal  of  it  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 
UNDER  ARREST   AGAIN. 

Commencement  of  a  new  Campaign.  —  Return  to  Richmond,  and  Arrest 
on  Suspicion  of  being  a  Woman.  —  Imprisonment  in  Castle  Thunder. 
—  Kindness  to  me  of  Major  G.  W.  Alexander  and  his  Wife.  —  I  refuse 
to  resume  the  Garments  of  my  Sex.  —  I  am  released,  and  placed  on 
Duty  in  the  Secret  Service  Corps.  —  General  Winder,  the  Chief  of  the 
Secret  Service  Bureau.  —  A  remarkable  Character.  —  General  Winder 
sends  me  with  blank  Despatches  to  General  Van  Dorn  to  try  me.  —  A 
Member  of  the  North  Carolina  Home  Guards  attempts  to  arrest  me  at 
Charlotte. — I  resist  the  Arrest,  and  am  permitted  to  proceed.  —  The 
Despatches  delivered  to  Van  Dorn  in  Safety.  —  My  Arrest  in  Lynch- 
burg.  —  The  Rumors  that  were  in  Circulation  about  me.  —  I  am  pes 
tered  with  curious  Visitors.  —  A  couple  of  Ladies  deceived  by  a  simple 
trick.  —  A  comical  Interview  with  an  old  Lady.  —  She  declares  herself 
insulted.  —  An  insulting  Letter  from  a  general  Officer.  —  My  indignant 
Reply,  and  offer  to  fight  him.  —  I  obtain  my  Release,  and  leave 
Lynchburg. 

WAS  now  about  to  commence  a  new  campaign, 
and  to  enter  upon  experiences  of  another  kind 
from  those  through  which  I  had  just  passed. 
The  condition  of  affairs  was  materially  different 
in  an  infinite  number  of  ways  from  what  it  had 
been  when  I  first  sought  the  Confederate  capital 
with  rather  vague  dreams  of  glory  floating  through 
my  brain,  but  with  considerable  confidence  that  the 
Federal  forces,  against  whom  the  brave  boys  of  the 
South  were  marching,  would  melt  away  before  them, 
and  that  I  and  my  comrades  in  arms  would,  ere  many 
days,  have  the  flag  of  the  Confederacy  floating  from  the  dome 
of  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and,  perhaps,  indulge  in  a  march 
through  a  portion  of  the  North,  just  for  the  sake  of  convincing 
the  Yankees  that  they  had  been  rash  in  meddling  with  us. 

Well,  we  met  the  forces  sent  out  against  us  by  the  Federal 
government,  and  long  before  the  close  of  the  day  they  were 
running  back  as  fast  as  their  legs  would  take  them  to  their  in- 
trenchments  before  Washington.  The  flag- raising  on  the  Capi- 

276 


MARTIAL    LAW   IN   RICHMOND.  277 

tol,  and  the  march  through  the  North,  were  deferred  by  those 
who  were  managing  affairs  on  our  side  to  a  more  convenient 
opportunity,  and  the  grand  chance  for  winning  the  great 
stakes  for  which  we  were  fighting  was  lost,  never  to  be  re 
gained.  Just  as  at  Shiloh,  the  hesitation  to  follow  up  a  bril 
liant  victory,  and  make  it  complete  by  the  capture  or  annihi 
lation  of  the  enemy,  lost  us  the  field,  and  inflicted  upon  us  a 
most  humiliating  defeat,  so  at  Bull  Run,  a  similar  hesitating 
policy  lost  us  not  merely  the  substantial  results  of  victory,  but 
inflicted  upon  us  four  years'  of  slaughter,  during  which  the 
Federals  closed  in  upon  us  gradually,  until  at  length  they  were 
able  to  crush  us. 

I  mean  no  disparagement  to  the  brave  soldiers  and  the  skil 
ful  commanders  on  the  Federal  side,  when  I  express  the  opin 
ion  that,  as  a  rule,  the  Confederates  were  better  fighters,  and 
were  better  officered,  than  their  opponents.  There  was  in 
efficiency  somewhere,  however,  in  the  management  of  military 
affairs  on  our  side.  We  never  seemed  to  be  able  to  follow  up 
our  successes,  or  to  gain  permanent  results  from  our  victories, 
no  matter  how  brilliant  they  might  be.  The  Federals,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  a  way  of  staying,  when  they  once  got  to  a 
place,  that  was  most  disheartening ;  and  one  after  another  the 
strongest  and  most  important  of  the  Confederate  posts  fell  into 
their  hands,  never  to  be  regained,  until  finally  they  won  the 
grand  prize  for  which,  during  four  long,  weary  years,  vast 
armies  had  contended  in  vain,  and,  by  the  capture  of  Rich 
mond,  virtually  ended  the  contest. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  however,  the  capture  of 
Richmond,  although  constantly  threatened,  was  a  long  way 
off  yet,  and  some  trying  days  were  to  come  before  the  aban 
donment  of  the  capital  would  give  the  signal  to  Southern  hearts, 
weary  of  strife,  but  hoping  against  hope,  that  even  Hope  it 
self  was  dead. 

Richmond,  however,  was  a  very  different  place  from  what 
it  was  on  my  last  visit  to  it,  as  I  soon  found  to  my  cost. 
Martial  law  was  in  force  in  its  most  rigorous  aspect,  and  Gen 
eral  Winder,  the  chief  of  the  secret  service  bureau,  and  his 
emissaries,  were  objects  of  terror  to  everybody,  rich  and  poor. 
Beleaguered  as  Richmond  was,  every  person  was  more  or  less 
an  object  of  suspicion,  and  strangers,  especially,  were  watched 
with  a  vigilance  that  left  them  few  opportunities  to  do  mis 
chief,  or  were  put  under  arrest,  and  placed  in  close  confine 
ment,  without  scruple,  if  Winder  or  his  officers  took  it  into 


278  IMPRISONED   IN   CASTLE  THUNDER. 

their  heads  that  this  would  be  the  most  expeditious  way  of 
disposing  of  them. 

UNDER  ARREST  IN  RICHMOND. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  almost  immediately  upon 
my  arrival  in  Richmond  I  fell  under  the  surveillance  of  Winder 
as  a  suspicious  character,  and  was  called  upon  to  give  an 
account  of  myself.  My  story  was  not  accepted  in  the  same 
spirit  of  credibility  that  some  rather  tough  yarns  I  had  manu 
factured  in  the  course  of  my  career,  for  the  purpose  of  satis 
fying  the  curiosity  of  inquisitive  people,  had  been.  The  fact 
that  my  secret  had  already  been  several  times  discovered, 
was  against  me  to  begin  with ;  then  my  disguise  was  not  in 
as  good  order  as  it  had  been  when  I  first  assumed  it ;  and  my 
papers  were  not  of  such  a  definite  character  as  to  inspire  re 
spect  in  the  minds  of  the  Richmond  police  authorities.  There 
was,  evidently,  something  suspicious  and  mysterious  about 
me ;  and,  suspicion  having  once  been  excited,  some  lynx-eyed 
detective  was  not  long  in  noting  certain  feminine  ways  I 
had,  and  which  even  my  long  practice  in  figuring  as  a  man 
had  not  enabled  me  to  get  rid  of;  and  the  result  was,  that  I 
was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  being  a  woman  in  disguise,  and 
supposably  a  Federal  spy,  and  was  conducted  to  Castle  Thun 
der,  to  reflect  upon  the  mutabilities  of  fortune,  until  I  could 
give  a  satisfactory  account  of  myself. 

I  thought  that  this  was  rather  hard  lines ;  but  as  good  luck 
often  comes  to  us  in  the  guise  of  present  tribulation,  as  matters 
turned  out  it  was  the  very  best  thing  that  could  have  hap 
pened  to  me,  for  it  compelled  me  to  reveal  myself  and  my 
plans  to  persons  who  were  willing  and  able  to  aid  me,  and  to 
tell  my  story  to  friendly  and  sympathetic  ears. 

The  commander  of  Castle  Thunder  was  Major  G.  W.  Alex 
ander,  a  gentleman  who,  ever  since  I  made  his  acquaintance 
through  being  committed  to  his  custody  as  a  prisoner,  I  have 
always  been  proud  to  number  among  my  best  and  most  highly- 
esteemed  friends.  Major  Alexander,  and  his  lovely  wife,  both 
showed  the  greatest  interest  in  me,  ajrfl  they  treated  me  with 
such  kindness  and  consideration  that  I  was  induced  to  tell 
them  exactly  who  I  was,  what  my  purposes  were  in  assuming 
the  male  garb,  what  adventures  I  had  passed  through,  and 
what  my  aspirations  were  for  the  future.  They  not  only  be 
lieved  my  story,  but  thinking  that  my  services  to  the  Confed- 


• 


GENERAL   J.    H.   WINDER.  279 

eracy  merited  better  treatment  than  I  was  then  receiving  at 
the  hands  of  the  authorities,  interested  themselves  greatly  in 
my  behalf. 

Both  the  major  and  his  wife  —  but  the  lady,  especially  — 
seemed  to  be  shocked,  however,  at  the  idea  of  a  woman  dress 
ing  herself  in  the  garb  of  the  other  sex,  and  attempting  to 
play  the  part  of  a  soldier;  and  they  eagerly  urged  me  to 
resume  the  proper  costume  of  my  sex  again,  assuring  me  that 
there  would  be  plenty  of  work  for  me  to  do,  if  I  were  disposed 
still  to  devote  myself  to  the  service  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
major,  however,  was  evidently  impressed  with  the  narrative  I 
had  given  him  of  my  exploits,  and  was  convinced  that  if  reg 
ularly  enlisted  in  the  secret  service  corps  I  would  be  able  to 
render  assistance  of  the  first  value.  He,  however,  was  urgent 
that  I  should  abandon  my  disguise,  and  represented,  in  forcible 
terms,  the  dangers  I  ran  in  persisting  in  wearing  it. 

To  these  remonstrances  I  turned  a  deaf  ear.  I  had  passed 
through  too  many  real  trials  to  be  frightened  by  imaginary 
ones,  and  I  did  not  like  to  change  my  costume  under  compul 
sion.  I  accordingly  refused  positively  to  put  on  the  garments 
of  a  woman,  except  as  a  means  of  gaining  my  liberty,  and  with 
the  full  intention  of  resuming  male  attire  at  the  earliest  oppor 
tunity. 

Major  Alexander,  therefore,  finding  me  fixed  in  my  deter 
mination  to  have  my  own  way,  undertook  to  have  matters 
arranged  to  my  satisfaction  without  putting  me  to  the  neces 
sity  of  discarding  my  disguise,  in  representing  my  case  to 
General  Winder,  and  inducing  him  to  give  me  a  trial  in  his 
corps. 

IN  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 

General  Winder  ordered  my  release,  and,  assigning  me  to  a 
position  in  the  secret  service  corps,  he  proceeded  to  play  a 
very  characteristic  trick  upon  me,  for  the  purpose  of  testing 
my  fidelity  and  my  abilities.  The  trick  was  neatly  played ; 
but  I  got  the  best  of  the  general  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
was  tolerably  well  convinced  that  I  was  both  trustworthy,  and 
that  I  was  quite  wide  awake  enough  to  take  good  care  of  my 
self  even  against  such  a  sharp  practitioner  as  himself. 

General  Winder  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  I 
became  acquainted  with  during  my  whole  career  as  an  officer 
and  a  spy  in  the  Confederate  service.  He  was  a  venerable, 
pleasant-looking  old  gentleman,  with  white  hair,  and  a  rather 


280  A  TRAP  FOR  AN  INNOCENT. 

agreeable  expression  of  countenance  that  was  well  calculated 
to  deceive  superficial  observers  with  regard  to  his  real  char 
acter.  He  had  a  most  confiding,  plausible  way  about  him,  and 
an  air  of  general  benevolence,  that  completely  masked  the 
hardness  of  his  heart,  and  imposed  so  on  his  victims,  that, 
until  they  found  themselves  fairly  caught  in  his  cunningly-laid 
traps,  they  were  unwilling  to  believe  him  to  be  the  desperate 
old  sinner  he  really  was.  Calculated  as  General  Winder  was 
to  leave  a  favorable  impression  at  first  glance,  he  would  not 
bear  inspection.  No  man  of  strongly-marked  character  can 
long  conceal  his  real  self  from  those  who  are  accustomed  to 
study  human  nature ;  and  a  very  slight  acquaintance  with 
Winder  sufficed  to  convince  me  that  he  was  a  dangerous  man 
to  trifle  with,  and  that  cruelty  and  rapacity  were  among  his 
predominant  traits.  His  eyes  were  hard,  cold,  and  piercing, 
and  there  was  a  wicked  twist  about  his  mouth  that  was  far 
from  being  reassuring.  I  do  not  believe  that  man  had  such  a 
thing  as  a  conscience ;  that  he  was  utterly  unscrupulous  with 
regard  to  the  means  he  took  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
ends,  I  know.  He  was  a  most  valuable  officer,  however,  and 
I  doubt  whether  another  individual  in  the  whole  Confederacy 
could  have  been  found  who  would  have  commanded  the  secret 
service  corps  with  the  signal  ability  he  did. 

GENERAL  WINDER  PLAYS  A  TRICK  ON  ME. 

Such  was  the  new  commander  under  whom  I  was  now  to  go 
on  duty,  and  who,  when  he  consented  to  release  me  from 
prison,  and  give  me  employment,  prepared  as  pretty  a  trap 
as  was  ever  devised  for  catching  an  innocent.  The  trap  was 
sprung  in  first-rate  style,  but  the  intended  victim  was  agile 
enough  to  slip  through  the  wires,  and  the  result  was  that  Gen 
eral  Winder  had  nothing  but  his  trouble  for  his  pains.  I 
believe  it  would  have  delighted  him  to  have  caught  me,  much 
more  than  it  did  to  have  it  proved,  by  his  ingeniously- arranged 
device,  that  I  was  all  that  I  pretended  to  be,  and  that  the 
probabilities  were  all  in  favor  of  my  being  able  to  become  a 
most  efficient  ally. 

I  was  a  little  taken  in  by  Winder's  plausible  manner  at  first, 
and  I  really  did  not  have  *a  fair  chance  of  studying  his  char 
acter  before  I  was  compelled  to  submit  myself  to  the  test 
which  he  prepared  for  me.  From  what  I  saw  and  heard 
of  him,  however,  I  easily  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  he  was 


THE   TRAP  SPRUNG.  281 

a  hard  customer  to  deal  with,  and  that  I  would  have  to  be 
unusually  wary  if  I  wanted  to  avoid  getting  into  trouble  with 
him.  I  had,  however,  unlimited  confidence  in  my  own  abili 
ties,  and  accepted  the  commission  he  gave  me  as  a  secret 
service  agent  with  a  determination  to  carry  out  my  instruc 
tions  to  the  letter  at  all  hazards. 

Furnishing  me  with  transportation.  General  Winder  started 
me  off  with  despatches  for  General  Earl  Van  Dorn.  The  de 
spatches  were  simply  a  lot  of  blank  papers,  and  a  letter  explain 
ing  the  little  game  Winder  was  playing  with  me. 

A  NORTH  CAROLINA  MILITIA-MAN  TRIES  TO  ARREST  ME. 

Unsuspicious  of  any  evil  intentions  on  the  part  of  the  white- 
headed,  benevolent-looking  old  gentleman,  I  hastened  to  exe 
cute  my  orders,  but  suddenly  found  myself  brought  up  at 
Charlotte,  N.  C.,  with  a  round  turn,  as  the  sailors  say.  Winder 
had  telegraphed  to  the  provost  marshal  at  Charlotte  to  have 
me  arrested ;  and  accordingly,  when  the  train  stopped  at  that 
place,  a  gawky  member  of  the  North  Carolina  home- guard  put 
in  an  appearance,  took  me  into  custody,  and  demanded  the 
papers  1  had  in  my  pocket.  It  now  flashed  upon  me  that 
Winder  had  put  up  a  job  on  me,  and  1  resolved  that  he  should 
not  have  the  satisfaction  of  succeeding,  if  I  could  help  it. 

I  accordingly  measured  my  captor  with  my  eye,  and  saw  at 
a  glance  that  he  was  not  the  brightest-witted  specimen  ever 
created,  and  concluded  that  if  I  only  put  on  enough  dignity  I 
would  have  no  serious  difficulty  in  getting  the  best  of  him. 
It  was  evidently  somewhat  of  a  novelty  for  the  tar-heeled 
home-guarder  to  arrest  an  officer  j  and  while  he  felt  the  impor 
tance  of  the  occasion  immensely,  he  was  in  some  degree  of 
trepidation,  especially  when  he  saw  that  I  was  not  disposed  to 
acknowledge  his  authority. 

I  refused  to  give  up  the  papers,  and  demanded,  in  the 
severest  manner  I  could  command,  what  right  he  had  to  un 
dertake  to  make  the  arrest  of  an  officer  of  the  Confederate 
army  travelling  under  orders.  He  showed  me  his  orders, 
which  I  was  forced  to  acknowledge  were  correct,  but  still 
declined  either  to  give  up  the  papers  or  to  submit  to  an  arrest. 

I,  however,  promptly  offered  to  return  to  Richmond  with 
them,  and  report  at  headquarters  to  General  Winder. 

This  completely  nonplussed  him,  and  he  was  in  a  terrible 
quandary.  His  orders  to  arrest  me  were  positive,  and  he  was 


282  VAN  DORN  AMUSED. 

confident  that  there  was  something  wrong  about  me.  My 
prompt  offer  to  return  and  see  Winder,  however,  convinced 
him  that  there  must  be  some  mistake,  and  he  was  in  an  agony 
to  know  what  course  he  had  better  pursue. 

I  pitied  the  poor  fellow's  perplexity,  but  could  scarcely  help 
from  laughing  in  his  face  at  his  desperate  stupidity.  He 
blinked  his  eyes  at  a  terrible  rate,  and  great  drops  of  sweat 
oozed  from  his  forehead,  which  he  wiped  off  with  the  sleeve 
of  his  jacket,  as  he  tried  to  argue  the  matter  with  me.  I, 
however,  would  not  give  in  in  the  least,  and  seeing  that  he  did 
not  have  the  slightest  comprehension  of  the  duties  of  his  office, 
and  was  puzzled  to  know  what  to  do,  I  suggested  that  a  tele 
graphic  despatch  should  be  sent  back  to  headquarters,  asking 
for  further  instructions.  This  settled  the  case  effectually ;  and 
with  a  little  further  parley  I  was  released,  and  was  soon  on  my 
way  again.  I  don't  know  whether  Winder  ever  took  any 
notice  of  this  most  admirable  exhibition  of  inefficiency  on  the 
part  of  the  gallant  defender  of  the  homes  of  Charlotte,  but  I 
thought  that  if  I  were  in  his  place,  I  would  take  some  pains  to 
discipline  this  particular  tar-heel  into  some  adequate  apprecia 
tion  of  the  necessity  for  obeying  orders,  no  matter  who  was 
hurt.  The  adventure  afforded  me  considerable  amusement, 
when  I  was  well  through  with  it,  and  I  could  not  but  laugh 
whenever  the  comical  expression  of  the  puzzled  North  Caro 
linian  presented  itself  to  my  mind's  eye. 

Without  more  interruption  or  delay  I  proceeded  on  my  jour 
ney,  and  finally  reached  General  Van  Dorn,  to  whom  I  deliv 
ered  my  package  of  supposed  despatches.  He  read  Winder's 
letter,  and  looked  through  the  lot  of  blanks  which  had  accom 
panied  them ;  then,  glancing  at  me,  he  burst  into  a  laugh,  which 
indicated  that  he  saw  something  funny  in  the  proceeding,  and 
after  a  few  questions,  he  ordered  me  to  return.  This  might 
be  good  fun  for  Van  Dorn  and  Winder ;  but  I  did  not  particu 
larly  admire  having  been  sent  all  this  distance  on  such  a  fool's 
errand,  and  was  very  much  disposed  to  resent  it.  A  little 
reflection,  however,  told  me  that  it  was  none  of  my  business 
what  the  pretended  despatches  were,  and  that  as  I  had  accom 
plished  my  errand  according  to  order,  and  without  falling  into 
the  snare  that  General  Winder  himself  had  evidently  set  for 
me,  I  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied,  and  would  probably 
find,  on  getting  back  to  Richmond,  that  he  was  satisfied  also. 

I  was  anxious  to  reach  Richmond  at  as  early  a  day  as  possi 
ble,  for  I  heard  a  number  of  rumors  which  induced  me  to 


MADAME  RUMOR'S  EXAGGERATIONS.  283 

believe  that  another  great  battle  was  shortly  to  be  fought,  and 
I  was  immediately  seized  with  a  furious  desire  to  be  on  hand 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  part  in  it.  Despite  the  terrible 
scenes  through  which  I  had  passed,  despite  the  severe  wound 
I  had  received,  and  from  which  my  arm  was  still  stiff,  the 
prospect  of  joining  in  another  fight  had  an  irresistible  fasci 
nation  for  me.  I  found,  however,  on  reaching  Richmond,  that 
there  was  no  present  chance  for  a  battle,  and  consequently 
settled  myself  down  as  contentedly  as  possible  to  do  whatever 
work  might  be  assigned  me  in  the  secret  service  department. 
It  seemed  to  be  an  impossibility  for  me  now  to  avoid  getting 
into  continual  trouble  about  my  disguise.  Not  only  were  a 
number  of  people  fully  informed  of  all  the  particulars  of  my 
career  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  but  it  began  to  be  whis 
pered  about  among  the  soldiers  and  citizens  that  a  woman 
dressed  as  a  man  had  been  discovered,  and  some  highly-exag 
gerated  rumors  with  regard  to  my  exploits  were  diligently 
circulated.  My  having  received  a  wound,  shortly  after  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  appeared  to  be  a  particularly  attractive  epi 
sode  to  the  minds  of  many  people ;  and  my  performances  at 
that  battle  were  believed,  in  some  quarters,  to  have  been  of  a 
most  extraordinary  nature.  Indeed,  I  do  not  know  but  that 
some  people  thought  me  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Con 
federate  forces  on  the  occasion,  while  I  was  credited  with 
exploits  of  unparalleled  heroism. 

INCONVENIENCES  OF  CELEBRITY. 

This  sort  of  rather  indefinite  celebrity  might  have  amused 
me,  and  pleased  my  vanity,  were  it  not  the  source  of  much 
annoyance.  Not  only  did  the  report  that  this  woman-soldier 
had  come  to  Virginia  have  a  tendency  to  attract  attention  to 
me,  and  to  excite  suspicions  that  might  never  have  occurred 
to  any  one,  but  the  extraordinary  vigilance  that  was  exercised 
on  all  sides  to  prevent  spies  from  pursuing  their  occupations 
in  safety,  and  to  prevent  deserters  from  escaping,  was  sure  to 
occasion  me  troubles  of  various  kinds.  I  felt  out  of  the 
reach  of  serious  danger,  it  is  true,  having  been  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  secret  service  corps  by  General  Winder ;  but  the 
fact  of  my  being  in  this  corps  would  not  prevent  my  arrest 
and  detention  at  any  time  if  somebody  should  take  a  fancy  to 
believe  that  I  was  not  all  that  my  outward  appearances  repre 
sented. 


284  UNDER  ARREST  IN  LYNCHBURG. 

I  was  vexed,  therefore,  but  scarcely  surprised,  when,  shortly 
after  my  return  from  my  trip  to  Van  Dorn's  headquarters,  on 
taking  a  run  over  to  Lynchburg,  I  was  again  arrested  on  the 
charge  of  being  a  woman  in  disguise.  My  sword  was  taken 
from  me,  and  I  was  otherwise  treated  with  a  good  deal  more 
rudeness  than  I  thought  there  was  any  occasion  for ;  and  this 
treatment  had  the  effect  of  making  me  obstinate,  and  indis 
posed  to  give  my  captors  any  satisfaction  with  regard  to  who 
I  was,  and  for  a  considerable  time  I  stood  out  strongly  for  my 
rights  as  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  army.  I  was  subjected 
to  a  brief  examination  before  his  honor  the  mayor,  but  refused 
to  commit  myself;  and  it  very  soon  became  apparent  that  my 
captors  were  in  somewhat  of  a  quandary  as  to  the  best  course 
to  pursue  with  regard  to  me.  It  was  finally,  however,  decided 
to  hold  me  for  the  present,  and  I  was  assigned  to  tolerably 
comfortable  quarters,  where  I  proceeded  to  make  myself  as 
much  at  home  as  I  could. 

THE  FUN  COMMENCES. 

Now  the  fun  commenced.  It  having  become  rumored  about 
that  a  woman,  disguised  as  a  Confederate  officer,  had  been 
arrested,  all  the  curiosity-seekers,  of  the  town  became  im 
mensely  excited,  especially  as  the  most  exaggerated  reports 
of  my  heroic  deeds  on  the  battle-field  and  elsewhere  were  in 
circulation,  and  everybody  —  the  women  in  particular  — 
evinced  the  most  eager  desire  to  see  the  heroine  of  innu 
merable  bloody  conflicts. 

I  began  to  be  pestered  with  visitors,  who  plied  me  with  all 
sorts  of  questions,  some  of  them  most  insulting  ones,  but  which 
I  was  compelled  to  refrain  from  getting  angry  at  for  fear  of 
betraying  myself.  My  position  was  a  most  unpleasant  one,  and 
it  required  very  skilful  management  for  me  to  play  the  part  of 
a  man  to  advantage.  What  gave  piquancy  to  the  situation 
was,  that,  while  it  was  generally  believed  I  was  a  woman,  and 
the  particular  woman  whose  exploits  had  reached  their  ears, 
my  visitors  were  none  of  them  quite  sure  which  sex  I  belonged 
to,  and  all  their  efforts  were  directed  to  solving  the  mystery. 

While  the  attentions  I  received  from  the  good  citizens  of 
Lynchburg,  and  particularly  from  the  women  folk  of  that  town, 
were  all  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  annoying,  some  of  my  in 
terviews  with  the  visitors  who  persisted  in  calling  upon  me 
were  decidedly  amusing,  and  paused  me  much  hearty  laughter. 


MAINTAINING   AN   INCOGNITO.  285 

On  one  occasion  I  heard  feminine  voices  and  footsteps 
approaching,  and  prepared  myself  for  the  ordeal  which  I 
would  be  compelled  to  go  through  with.  During  the  two 
years  and  more  I  had  been  wearing  male  attire,  1  had  not  only 
learned  the  general  carriage  of  a  man,  but  had  picked  up  a 
good  many  little  masculine  traits,  which  I  had  practised  until  I 
was  quite  perfect  in  them.  I  relied  greatly  upon  these  to  aid 
me  in  maintaining  my  incognito,  for  they  were  eminently  char- 
aQteristic,  and  well  calculated  to  throw  a  suspicious  person  off 
guard.  So,  when  I  heard  these  visitors  coming,  I  stuck  my 
feet  up  on  the  window-sill,  and,  just  as  they  were  opening  the 
door,  I  turned  my  head,  and  spit. 

This  action  attracted  the  attention  of  the  youngest  of  the 
two  ladies  who  were  entering,  immediately ;  and  I  heard  her 
say  in  a  whisper  to  the  elder,  "  0,  ina,  that  can't  be  a  woman ! 
See  how  he  spits  ! "  I  saw  that  my  little  ruse  was  a  success, 
and  laughed  inwardly  at  the  impression  it  made  on  the 
ladies. 

They  were  a  mother  and  daughter,  and  had  evidently  come 
to  remonstrate  with  me,  in  good  set  terms,  about  the  impro 
priety  of  my  costume.  One  little  peculiarly  mannish  gesture, 
however,  so  completely  confounded  them  that  they  did  not 
venture  to  approach  the  subject  they  had  in  their  minds 
except  in  the  most  roundabout  way.  They  were  very  nice 
people,  and  were  disposed  to  be  as  kind  to  me  as  they  possibly 
could  ;  but  I  did  not  think  proper  to  give  them  any  satisfaction 
with  regard  to  what  they  were  most  concerned  about;  and, 
after  a  somewhat  embarrassed  conversation,  during  which 
they  offered  to  serve  me  in  any  way  in  their  power,  they  took 
their  departure  as  wise  as  they  came. 

COMICAL  INTERVIEW  WITH  AN  OLD  LADY. 

Not  long  after,  I  had  another  visitor  of  a  somewhat  different 
kind  This  was  a  motherly  old  lady,  who  seemed  to  consider 
that  her  years  and  experience  gave  her  a  right  to  speak  to  me 
in  plain  words,  whether  I  was  a  man  or  a  woman.  She  accord 
ingly,  without  any  ceremony,  began  to  subject  me  to  a  very 
rigid  cross-examination ;  but  I  replied  to  her  questions  in  a 
manner  that  was  anything  but  to  her  satisfaction.  The  result 
was,  that  both  of  us  at  length  began  to  be  somewhat  vexed, 
and,  as  I  could  not  understand  what  right  she  had  to  under 
take  such  a  task  as  that  she  was  then  engaged  in;  and  consid- 


286  A  RETORT   COURTEOUS. 

ered  her  behavior  impertinent  in  the  extreme,  I  resolved  to 
say  a  few  words  that  I  thought  would  settle  her. 

Finding  that  she  could  not  obtain  any  definite  answers  to 
her  questions,  she  finally  said,  "  Well,  all  I've  got  to  say  is, 
that  if  you  really  are  a  young  man,  you  deserve  credit  for 
what  you  have  done  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  cause. 
If  you  are  a  woman,  however,  you  are  disgracing  your  sex  by 
dressing  yourself  up  in  men's  clothes,  and  attempting  to  be  a 
soldier.  If  you  wanted  to  serve  your  country,  you  might 
have  found  some  other  way  of  doing  it,  and  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself." 

This  made  me  a  little  mad,  but  I  kept  cool,  and,  shrugging 
my  shoulders,  said,  in  as  deliberate  a  manner  as  possible, 
looking  the  old  lady  straight  in  the  eyes,  "  Well,  madam,  as 
you  seem  to  be  in  doubt  about  my  sex,  and  are  apparently  ex 
ceedingly  anxious  to  find  out  whether  I  am  a  man  or  a  woman, 
allow  me  to  suggest  that  the  facts  of  the  case  can  very  read 
ily  be  established  to  your  satisfaction.  Suppose  you  — " 
But  it  would  be  cruelty  to  the  reader  to  give  the  rest  of  my 
reply,  so  I  will  leave  it  unrecorded. 

It  had  an  astonishing  effect,  however,  on  my  visitor.  She 
got  red  in  the  face,  her  eyes  flashed,  and,  muttering  something 
that  I  did  not  hear,  she  bounced  out  of  the  room,  leaving  me 
to  enjoy  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  comical  termination  of  the  adven 
ture.  My  irate  visitor  went  down  stairs  in  hot  haste,  and,  in 
a  terrible  state  of  excitement,  informed  the  mayor  that  that 
nasty  little  fellow  had  insulted  her.  The  supposed  insult  I 
explained  in  such  a  way  that  the  laugh  was  fairly  turned  upon 
the  ancient  dame. 

If  such  occurrences  as  these  had  been  the  only  annoyances 
to  which  I  was  subjected,  no  particular  harm  would  have  been 
done,  but,  rather,  considerable  amusement  would  have  been 
afforded  me.  To  my  surprise  and  indignation,  however,  I 
received  one  day  the  following  letter  from  a  general  officer, 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  whom  I  had  hitherto  regarded 
as  something  of  a  gentleman :  — 

"  LIEUTENANT  HARRY  T.  BUFORD,  C.  S.  A. 

"  Dear  Sir :  If  you  will  accept  a  position  on  my  staff"  as  one 
of  my  aids,  I  can  obtain  for  you  your  release  from  the  civil 
authorities.  You  will  have  a  pleasant  time.  I  will  furnish 
you  with  a  fine  horse,  and  you  can  share  my  quarters  and  my 
mess." 


AN   INSULT   RESENTED.  287 

The  meaning  of  this  did  not  require  explanation.  It  stung 
me  to  the  heart,  that  a  man  who  had  fought  with  me  on  the 
same  field  of  battle  should  offer  me  such  an  indignity,  situated 
as  I  was ;  and  I  was  so  overcome  with  rage  at  the  insult  that  I 
would  have  killed  him,  without  thought  of  the  consequences  to 
myself,  could  I  have  reached  him.  I  replied  instantly  to  his 
note,  stating  that  I  would  meet  him  at  any  time  and  place  he 
might  designate,  and  that  I  would  either  kill  him  or  he  would 
have  to  kill  me,  for  I  was  resolved  that  no  man  should  insult 
me  with  impunity.  I  heard  no  more  from  him;  and  when  I 
gained  my  freedom  once  more,  he  was  gone.  At  that  time  the 
writer  of  this  insulting  note  was  single,  but  now  he  is  married ; 
and  it  is  only  for  the  sake  of  his  noble  little  wife  and  his  family 
that  I  refrain  from  branding  his  name  with  infamy.  I  am 
informed  that  he  always  speaks  of  me  with  the  highest  re 
spect  ;  but,  as  I  have  no  respect  for  him,  I  care  not  what  his 
opinion  of  me  may  be. 

Finally,  I  obtained  my  release  ;  and  having  had  quite  enough 
of  Lynchburg,  and  being  anxious  to  escape  from  the  gaze  of 
the  impertinently  curious  people,  who  watched  my  every 
motion,  I  took  my  departure  without  any  delay. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

RUNNING    THROUGH    THE    FEDERAL    LINES. 

At  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  —  Arrival  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  on  its  Way 
to  re-enforce  Bragg's  Army.  —  I  obtain  Permission  for  myself  and  other 
Officers  to  go  on  the  Train  southward.  —  I  arrive  in  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
and  receive  Letters  from  several  Members  of  my  Family.  —  I  learn  for 
the  first  time  that  my  Brother  is  in  the  Confederate  Army.  —  I  receive 
Information  of  the  Officer  to  whom  I  am  engaged  to  be  married,  and 
whom  I  have  not  seen  since  the  Battle  of  Shiloh.  —  I  make  an  Attempt 
to  reach  him,  but  am  unable  to  do  so.  —  Failing  in  an  Endeavor  to  be 
come  attached  to  General  Armstrong's  Command,  I  determine  to  un 
dertake  an  Expedition  through  the  Lines.  —  Finding  a  Supply  of  female 
Garments  in  a  deserted  Farm-house,  I  attire  Myself  as  a  Woman.  — 
My  Uniform  hid  in  an  Ash-barrel.  —  An  Invasion  of  the  Dairy.  —  I 
start  for  the  Federal  Lines. 

ROM  Lynchburg  I  went  to  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina,  where  the  home- guard  officer  had 
attempted  to  arrest  me  while  carrying  through 
General  Winder's  blank  despatches  to  Van 
Dorn.  I  had  some  curiosity  to  meet  this  indi 
vidual  again,  as  I  thought  I  would  like  to  make 
acquaintance.  I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him,  however ;  but  I  did  see  quite  a  number 
of  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  collected  at  this 
point,  under  orders  to  return  to  their  commands  with 
out  delay,  and  who  were  waiting  for  transportation. 
Many  of  these  were  old  friends  and  acquaintances  of  mine, 
and  I  proceeded  to  make  myself  at  home  among  them,  and 
also  among  the  good  people  of  Charlotte,  taking  particular 
pains,  according  to  my  usual  custom,  to  be  as  agreeable  as  I 
could  to  the  ladies;  for,  notwithstanding  my  recent  little 
unpleasantness  with  the  Richmond  and  Lynchburg  authorities 
with  regard  to  my  right  to  wear  male  attire,  I  still  was  in 
spired  by  some  ambition  to  achieve  a  reputation  as  a  ladies' 
man.  .  I  succeeded  as  well  as  I  usually  did  when  attempting 
to  play  this  role,  and  managed  to  enjoy  myself  immensely, 

288 


TROUBLE  ABOUT  TRANSPORTATION.  289 

although  I  am  not  aware  that  I  inflicted  any  irreparable  dam 
age  upon  the  hearts  of  the  fair  ones  of  Charlotte. 

This  was  in  the  summer  of  1863.  General  Lee  had  invaded 
Pennsylvania,  had  been  defeated  at  Gettysburg,  and  had  re 
turned  to  Virginia,  to  resume  again  the  defence  of  Richmond. 
His  army  was  shattered,  but  defiant  still,  and,  as  events 
proved,  was  quite  competent  to  do  as  hard  fighting  as  it 
ever  did,  and  to  ward  off  the  always  impending  Federal 
attack  on  the  Confederate  capital  for  a  good  while  to  come. 
But,  with  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  the  important  work  of  the 
summer  in  that  quarter  had  culminated,  and  the  attention  of 
the  entire  Confederacy  was  now  anxiously  directed  to  Eastern 
Tennessee,  where  the  Federal  General  Rosecrans  was  pushing 
forward,  with  the  evident  intention  of  striking  a  damaging 
blow  somewhere,  and  perhaps  of  forcing  his  way  into  Georgia. 
It  was  in  resisting  the  forces  of  Rosecrans,  therefore,  that 
distinction  was  to  be  won,  and  not  by  remaining  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Richmond.  As  I  always  liked  to  be  where  the 
heaviest  fighting  was  going  on,  I  concluded  that  I  ought  to  set 
my  face  southward  if  I  hoped  to  win  any  laurels. 

Hearing  that  Longstreet's  corps  had  been  detached  from 
Lee's  army  before  Richmond,  and  ordered  to  re-enforce 
Bragg,  I  concluded  to  wait  in  Charlotte  until  it  made  its  ap 
pearance  on  its  way  southward,  and,  if  possible,  travel  with 
it  to  its  destination.  A  good  many  of  the  officers  waiting  in 
Charlotte  were  anxious  to  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity 
to  obtain  transportation  back  to  their  commands,  but  it  was 
reported  that  no  one  would  be  permitted  to  go  on  the  train 
except  Longstreet's  own  men.  It  would  have  been  a  very 
serious  disappointment  and  some  trouble  to  many  who  did  not 
know  when  they  would  have  such  another  chance  to  reach 
the  scene  of  action,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  growling  at 
the  prospect  that  a  prolonged  stay  in  Charlotte  might  be 
necessary,  when  their  services  were  so  much  needed  else 
where. 

I,  however,  had  made  up  my  mind  to  make  a  determined 
effort  to  go,  at  every  hazard,  despite  the  orders  to  the  con 
trary  ;  and  I  proposed  to  some  of  the  officers,  who  were  im 
patient  to  get  off,  that  we  should  have  an  interview  with 
General  Longstreet,  and  endeavor  to  impress  upon  his  mind 
the  imperative  necessity  we  were  under  of  rejoining  our 
regiments  immediately.  There  was  a  difference  of  opinion,. 
19 


290  FAMILY   LETTERS. 

however,  about  the  expediency  and  propriety  of  this  course, 
and  no  one  was  willing  to  take  the  responsibility  of  doing  the 
necessary  talking.  As  no  one  else  would  undertake  the  task 
of  interviewing  Longstreet  on  the  subject,  I  resolved  to  rep 
resent  the  situation  to  him  myself. 

AN  INTERVIEW  WITH  LONGSTREET. 

After  the  arrival  of  his  corps  in  Charlotte  I  watched  for  a 
good  opportunity,  and  at  length  espied  him  engaged  in  con 
versation  with  General  Jenkins.  I  therefore  went  up,  and, 
making  a  salute,  stated  to  General  Longstreet  that  a  number 
of  officers  who  were  ordered  to  join  their  regiments  immedi 
ately  were  unable  to  proceed  for  lack  of  transportation,  and 
asked  if  we  might  not  go  on  with  him ;  for,  if'  we  did  not, 
great  inconvenience  would  be  caused  to  ourselves  and  to  the 
army.  The  general  hesitated  somewhat,  but  after  asking  me 
several  questions  about  who  we  were,  how  many  there  were 
of  us,  where  we  were  going,  <fcc.,  he  acceded  to  my  request. 
I  made  known  the  success  of  my  mission  to  the  rest,  and  so, 
jumping  on  board  the  train,  we  managed  to  get  through. 

I  was  determined,  however,  that  in  case  Longstreet  re 
fused,  I  would  wait  until  the  very  last  minute,  and  then  jump 
on  the  engine  or  tender,  believing  that,  in  an  emergency  like 
this,  the  best  plan  is  to  take  the  law  into  one's  own  hands. 
It  is  true  that,  had  I  attempted  this,  I  might  have  been  put  off; 
but  I  did  not  think  this  very  likely,  but  rather  thought  that  I 
would  probably  win  the  favor  of  the  general,  by  showing  him 
that  I  was  bent  upon  getting  to  the  front  at  the  earliest  pos 
sible  moment.  At  all  events,  I  was  willing  to  have  taken 
the  chances  of  getting  through  in  proper  style. 

On  reaching  Atlanta,  I  had  the  gratification  of  receiving  a 
number  of  letters  from  relatives  from  whom  I  had  not  heard 
for  many  months.  There  were  two  from  my  father,  one  from 
my  sister  in  Matanzas,  and  one  from  my  brother,  in  the  trans- 
Mississippi  department.  This  was  the  first  time  in  nine 
months  I  had  heard  from  my  brother,  and  it  was  the  first  inti 
mation  I  had  that  he  was  in  the  army.  It  was  a  great  delight 
for  me  to  receive  these  letters,  as,  though  I  had  been  long 
separated  from  my  relatives,  they  were  often  in  my  thoughts, 
and  I  remembered  them  with  the  tenderest  affection.  I  was, 
.as  may  be  supposed,  particularly  well  pleased  to  learn  that 


A   STRANGE   COURTSHIP.  291 

my  brother  was  in  the  Confederate  service,  but  I  was  glad 
that  he  was  so  far  off  that  there  was  not  much  danger  of  my 
meeting  him;  for  I  felt  certain  that  he  would  object,  in  no 
measured  terms,  to  my  course  in  assuming  male  attire  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  a  share  of  the  fighting,  and  feared  that  we 
might  quarrel  about  it. 

SOME  GOOD  NEWS. 

Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  Atlanta,  however,  I  heard  some 
thing  that  delighted  me  even  more  than  the  receipt  of  these 
letters  from  my  near  and  dear  relatives.  This  was  that  Cap 
tain  De  Caulp  was  near  Spring  Hill  with  Van  Dorn.  This 
bit  of  particularly  interesting  information  I  obtained  from  a 
soldier  of  the  third  Arkansas  regiment.  I  had  not  seen  the 
captain  since  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  where  I  fought  by  his  side, 
or  at  least  under  his  eye,  during  nearly  the  whole  of  the  con 
flict,  succeeding  in  winning  his  commendation  for  my  courage, 
without  exciting  any  suspicion  in  his  mind  that  I  was  the 
woman  upon  whom  his  affections  were  bestowed.  So  soon  as 
I  heard  that  he  was  in  my  vicinity,  I  was  seized  with  an  in 
tense  desire  to  meet  him  again ;  for  I  was  greatly  in  love 
with  him,  and  it  afforded  me  the  keenest  delight  to  hear 
praises  of  myself  from  his  lips,  and  he  all  the  while  thinking 
that  he  was  addressing  them  to  a  third  party. 

I  don't  suppose,  since  the  commencement  of  the  world,  so 
strange  a  courtship  as  ours  was  ever  carried  on.  It  is  certain 
that  not  many  women  have  had  the  same  opportunities  as 
myself  to  find  out,  from  their  own  lips,  exactly  how  fond  of 
them  their  expected  husbands  really  are.  The  situation,  I 
confess,  had  a  wonderful  fascination  for  me,  for  there  were 
intensely  romantic  elements  in  it,  that  addressed  themselves, 
in  the  strongest  manner,  to  my  imagination.  To  have  been 
able  to  fight  by  the  side  of  my  lover  in  one  of  the  greatest 
battles  of  the  war,  and  to  be  praised  by  him  for  my  valor, 
were  of  themselves  matters  for  intense  satisfaction ;  and  I 
often  imagined  how  it  would  be  after  the  war  was  over,  and 
we  would  be  able  to  compare  notes  and  relate  our  adventures 
to  each  other.  But,  alas !  before  the  war  would  be  over  there 
was  much  that  both  of  us  would  be  compelled  to  endure  of 
toil  and  suffering;  and  the  peaceful,  happy  home  that  my 
fervid  imagination  pictured  was  but  a  dream,  and  nothing 
more. 


292  THOUGHTS   OF  LOVE. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  write,  however,  a  desire  to  see 
Captain  De  Caulp  again  was  the  uppermost  thought  in  my 
mind,  and  I  was  almost  more  than  half  resolved  to  give  him  a 
surprise  by  revealing  myself  to  him.  Whether  to  do  this  or 
not  was  a  question  that  1  debated  with  myself  most  seriously 
while  on  my  way  to  join  him.  The  fact  that  I  was  a  woman 
had  now  been  so  often  discovered,  that  it  was  probable  he 
might  at  any  moment  learn  that  his  expected  wife  and  Lieu 
tenant  Harry  T.  Buf'ord  were  one  and  the  same ;  and,  not 
knowing  what  he  might  think  of  the  course  I  had  pursued  in 
assuming  male  attire,  I  dreaded  having  any  one  but  myself 
discover  my  secret  to  him.  In  addition  to  this,  I  loved  him 
most  fondly ;  and,  although  inspired  by  a  sense  of  the  duties 
I  owed  to  the  cause  for  which  I  had  taken  up  arms,  I  endeav 
ored  to  control  my  feelings,  and  to  regard  my  marriage  with 
Captain  De  Caulp  as  not  to  be  thought  of  until  the  time  came 
for  both  to  forsake  the  battle-field,  and  to  think  no  more  of 
warfare  but  as  something  we  were  done  with  forever. 

CUPID'S  TYRANNY. 

I  would  have  been  less  than  human,  however,  if  sometimes 
I  did  not  desire  most  ardently  to  be  with  him,  and  to  hear 
from  my  lover's  lips  the  terms  of  endearment  which  are  the 
sweetest  music  a  woman's  ears  can  be  greeted  by,  and  to  be 
courted  by  him  as  other  women  were  by  the  men  who  had 
won  their  affections.  I  knew  that,  in  many  respects,  it  would 
be  better  for  me  to  remain  at  a  distance  from  Captain  De 
Caulp;  but  I  was  moved  by  an  inscrutable  impulse  at  this 
time  to  go  to  him,  and  I  was  almost  willing,  if  he  should  say 
so,  to  abandon  the  army,  and  to  permanently  resume  the  gar 
ments  of  my  sex.  I  did  not  propose,  however,  to  do  this  if  it 
could  be  avoided,  and  the  leading  idea  in  my  mind  was,  in  the 
event  of  my  concluding  to  reveal  myself  to  him,  to  go  through 
the  rest  of  the  war  with  him,  and  to  fight  constantly  by  his 
side,  as  the  Italian  heroine,  Bona  Lombardi,  did  by  the  side 
of  her  husband,  Brunaro.  The  course  which  I  would  ulti 
mately  pursue,  however,  I  finally  determined  should  be  gov 
erned  by  circumstances,  but  that,  at  all  events,  I  would  make 
an  effort  to  see  my  lover  again. 

So  soon  as  I  found  that  Captain  De  Caulp  was  near  at  hand, 
I  took  the  train  for  the  point  nearest  to  where  I  learned  that 
Van  Dorn's  command  was  stationed.  Getting  off  at  Tyner's 


PERPLEXITIES.  293 

Station,  I  obtained  a  horse,  and  started  off  in  the  direction  of 
Chickamauga.  At  this  point  I  fell  in  with  General  Pegram's 
cavalry,  and  had  the  great  pleasure  of  seeing  the  handsome 
General  Frank  Armstrong,  an  officer  for  whom  I  entertained 
an  intense  admiration. 

I  remember  once  saying  to  Major  Bacon,  who  at  that  time 
had  not  the  slightest  idea  who  I  really  was,  "  I  wonder  how 
any  woman  could  help  falling  in  love  with  Frank.  If  I  was  a 
woman,  I  would  be  in  love  with  him."  Indeed,  I  fear  that  if 
my  affections  had  not  already  been  engaged,  General  Arm 
strong  would  have  captured  them.  General  Armstrong  was 
a  tall,  fine  looking  man,  dark  complexioned,  with  regular  and 
very  handsome  features,  jet  black  hair  and  eyes,  and  with 
mustache  and  side  whiskers  that  became  him  immensely. 
His  uniform  always  fitted  him  exactly,  and  was  exceedingly 
becoming  to  him.  He  was  not  a  gay  or  dashing  sort  of  man, 
but  firm  and  decisive  in  his  manners  and  appearance,  and  he 
always  seemed  to  be  what  he  was,  —  a  true  officer  and  gen 
tleman.  From  General  Pegram  I  learned  that  it  would  be 
very  difficult,  and,  indeed,  almost  impossible,  for  me  to  reach 
Van  Dorn,  and  I  therefore  concluded  to  remain  where  I  was, 
and  to  endeavor  to  become  attached  to  General  Armstrong's 
command.  After  waiting  for  some  time,  however,  and  finding 
that  there  was  no  chance  for  me  to  do  this,  I  turned  back  as 
far  as  Ririgold.  At  this  place  I  met  some  of  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  tenth  Tennessee  regiment,  with  whom  I  was  ac 
quainted,  and  from  whom  I  obtained  some  ideas  with  regard 
to  the  general  situation  of  affairs,  which  induced  me  to  make 
rather  different  plans  from  those  which  I  had  been  endeavor 
ing  to  carry  out. 

IN  A  QUANDARY. 

In  fact,  I  was  in  somewhat  of  a  quandary,  and  scarcely 
knew  exactly  what  to  do  with  myself  so  as  to  dispose  of  my 
time  to  the  best  advantage.  I  saw  plainly,  as  matters  were 
then,  that  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
for  me  to  join  Van  Dorn's  command,  whereas,  if  I  waited 
patiently  for  a  little  while,  Captain  De  Caulp  would  most 
likely  come  my  way,  and  I  would  be  able  to  meet  him  sooner 
by  waiting  for  him  than  by  going  after  him.  I  was  too  im 
patient,  however,  to  pass  my  time  in  idleness,  and  felt  as  if  I 
must  do  something  for  the  cause  and  my  own  credit  as  a 
soldier. 


294  ALL   FOR  THE   CAUSE. 

It  really  appeared  to  be  more  trouble  than  it  was  worth  to 
endeavor  to  persuade  any  of  the  general  officers  to  assign  me 
to  the  particular  kind  of  duty  I  desired ;  and,  as  I  had  been 
decidedly  successful  in  more  than  one  expedition,  planned 
and  executed  by  myself,  and  on  my  own  responsibility,  I  re 
solved  to  undertake  another  one,  just  for  the  sake  of  keeping 
myself  busy,  and  of  seeing  what  would  come  of  it.  I  felt 
very  confident  that  if  I  could  make  a  big  hit,  my  services  as 
a  spy  would  be  in  heavy  demand,  for  there  was  evidently 
going  to  be  some  close  fighting,  and  the  movements  of  the 
enemy  would  need  watching  at  every  point. 

My  Washington  trip,  just  after  the  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff, 
suggested  a  general  method  of  procedure ;  but  in  a  great 
number  of  ways  the  present  situation  was  a  far  more  difficult 
and  dangerous  one,  and  would  require  the  exercise  of  all  the 
wits  I  had  —  wits  that  had  been  tolerably  well  sharpened  by 
over  two  years  of  severe  .experience,  both  as  a  soldier  and  as 
a  spy.  I  was  even  more  reckless  now  than  I  was  then,  but 
my  recklessness  was  that  of  a  veteran,  who  scorns  danger 
when  there  is  a  necessity  for  braving  it,  but  who  does  not 
expose  himself  any  more  than  there  is  occasion  for,  or  run 
himself  against  rifle  bullets  just  for  the  fun  of  the  thing. 
While  well  aware  of  the  risks  I  incurred,  however,  I  had  an 
unlimited  faith  in  my  own  tact  and  skill,  and  did  not  doubt 
my  ability  to  accomplish  my  proposed  adventure  in  safety, 
and  with  satisfactory  results. 

PLANNING  AN  EXPEDITION. 

My  idea  now  was  to  run  through  the  lines,  and  take  a  good 
view  of  the  situation  from  the  Federal  standpoint,  and  I 
knew  that  the  safest  and  best  way  of  doing  this  —  if,  indeed, 
not  the  only  one  —  was  to  go  as  a  woman ;  for,  in  the  proper 
attire  of  my  sex  it  would  be  easier  for  me  to  pass  the  pickets, 
and  avoid  being  suspected  of  having  any  end  in  view  to 
which  objection  could  be  taken.  The  only  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  accomplishing  my  object  was  in  procuring  suitable 
clothing  without  attracting  attention.  As  there  were  a  num 
ber  of  houses  in  the  vicinity  from  which  the  people  had  fled, 
some  of  them  in  great  haste,  when  they  found  themselves 
likely  to  be  in  the  midst  of  contending  armies,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  in  all  probability  I  would  be  able  to  find  what  I 
wanted  in  some  one  of  them. 


PREPARING   TO   RUN   THROUGH   THE   LINES.  295 

I,  therefore,  commenced  a  search,  and  soon  came  to  a  dwell 
ing  that  promised  to  supply  me  with  everything  I  needed : 
for,  from  such  views  of  the  interior  as  I  could  get,  the  people 
seemed  to  have  gone  off',  and  left  nearly  all  their  goods  behind 
them.  I,  accordingly,  concluded  to  make  an  investigation,  to 
see  if  my  surmises  were  correct,  and  forced  my  way  in 
through  one  of  the  back  windows.  Sure  enough,  I  found  an 
abundance  of  female  clothing  to  select  from,  and  proceeded 
forthwith  to  appropriate  the  best  outfit  the  wardrobe  of  the 
absent  mistress  of  the  establishment  afforded,  never  doubting 
but  that,  as  she  must  be  a  good  Confederate,  she  would  highly 
approve  of  my  conduct,  could  she  be  informed  of  the  use  to 
which  her  dresses  and  underwear  were  being  put. 

TRANSFORMATION. 

Having  completed  my  toilet,  and  transformed  myself  from 
a  gallant  young  Confederate  officer  into  a  reasonably  good- 
looking  woman,  I  packed  a  carpet-bag  with  a  change  of 
clothing,  and  other  articles,  such  as  I  thought  might  be  useful 
on  a  journey.  Before  making  a  start,  however,  there  were 
several  matters  to  be  attended  to.  My  uniform  was  to  be 
disposed  of,  and,  as  I  was  a  trifle  hungry,  I  thought  that  if 
any  provisions  were  obtainable,  a  good  meal  would  aid  me 
materially  in  getting  along  comfortably. 

My  uniform  I  folded  up  carefully  and  put  into  a  pillow-case, 
and  in  looking  about  for  a  place  to  bestow  it,  where  it  would 
be  least  likely  to  be  discovered  or  disturbed,  I  concluded  that 
an  ash-barrel  which  I  found  would  answer  my  purpose  ex 
actly.  I  therefore  put  the  pillow-case,  containing  the  gar 
ments,  into  the  barrel,  and,  covering  it  with  ashes,  placed  it, 
with  the  mouth  turned  towards  the  smoke-house,  in  a  corner 
where  it  would  not  be  apt  to  attract  attention. 

This  arrangement  being  effected,  I  next  went  into  the 
dairy  in  search  of  food,  and  found  enough  to  supply  the  de 
mands  of  my  hunger,  although  the  bill  of  fare  was,  perhaps, 
not  all  that  I  would  have  desired,  had  I  been  permitted  any 
choice  in  the  matter.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  making  a  tol 
erably  hearty  meal,  by  eating  some  raw  ham,  and  all  the  pre 
serves  I  could  find.  Having  despatched  such  eatables  as  I 
was  able  to  lay  my  hands  upon,  I  picked  up  my  carpet-bag, 
and  made  directly  for  the  enemy's  lines.  I  knew  that  the 
bold  way  was  the  best  way,  in  the  execution  of  such  an  en- 


296  BETWEEN  TWO   FIEES. 

terprise  as  that  upon  which  I  was  now  starting,  and  that  the 
correct  plan  was  to  strike  directly  for  headquarters,  with  a 
plausible  story  to  tell,  rather  than  to  attempt  to  slip  past  the 
pickets  and  run  the  risk  of  being  detected,  and  of  being  com 
pelled  to  give  an  account  of  myself,  under  suspicion  of  being 
upon  some  objectionable  errand.  Until  actually  within  the 
Federal  lines,  however,  I  would  be,  so  to  speak,  between  two 
fires,  and  would  stand  a  chance  of  being  used  quite  as  roughly 
by  my  friends  as  by  the  enemy  ;  and  it  was  important,  there 
fore,  for  me  to  make  the  distance  I  had  to  go  as  quickly  as  I 
could,  and  yet  to  avoid  appearing  in  too  much  of  a  hurry,  in 
case  any  one  should  happen  to  see  me.  I  judged  that  I  would 
be  able  to  pass  the  Confederate  lines  without  any  very  great 
trouble,  as  I  was  not  able  to  note  any  picket  posts  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  house  which  had  so  conveniently  been  left 
standing  by  its  owners,  with  everything  in  it  that  I  wanted 
for  the  particular  errand  I  was  on.  But  I  knew  that  it  would 
not  do  to  rely  too  much  on  appearances  in  such  a  situation  as 
this,  and  that  I  was  liable  to  have  an  individual  armed  with 
musket  or  sabre  put  in  an  appearance  at  any  moment,  and 
demand  to  know  who  I  was,  and  what  I  was  prowling  about 
there  for. 

The  dangers  attending  the  enterprise,  however,  gave  it  a 
certain  pleasurable  excitement,  such  as  it  otherwise  would 
not  have  had,  and  I  enjoyed  it,  after  a  fashion,  immensely  — 
even  more  than  I  did  the  excitement  of  a  battle.  In  a  b.attle, 
a  single  combatant,  no  matter  how  valorous  he  may  be,  is  lost 
in  the  crowd  ;  and  as  his  individuality  is,  in  a  large  measure, 
merged  in  that  of  his  regiment  or  brigade,  so  the  dependence 
of  the  issue  upon  single,  personal  effort  is  something  that  it  is 
difficult  to  appreciate.  In  attempting  such  a  bit  of  work, 
however,  as  I  now  had  on  hand,  my  own  personality  necessa 
rily  asserted  itself  in  the  strongest  manner.  The  plan  of  ac 
tion  was  mine ;  its  execution  depended  upon  myself;  mine 
alone  was  the  peril ;  and  should  I  succeed  in  accomplishing 
my  first  point,  in  gaining  the  Federal  lines  in  safety,  the  pros 
ecution  of  my  enterprise  would  be  a  contest  of  wits  between 
myself  and  those  with  whom  I  was  brought  in  contact,  and 
from  whom  I  expected  to  gain  the  information  I  was  after. 
For  these  reasons  I  found  a  keener  enjoyment  in  the  perform 
ance  of  spy  duty  than  I  did  in  doing  the  work  of  a  soldier ; 
and,  although  I  would  not  have  missed,  on  any  account,  the 
experience  I  underwent  during  the  first  two  years  of  the 


EXPERIENCES  AS  A  SPY.  297 

war,  especially  those  incident  to  being  a  participant  in  such 
hard-fought  battles  as  Bull  Run,  Ball's  Bluff,  Fort  Donelson, 
and  Shiloh,  my  career  during  the  latter  part  of  the  great  con 
test,  when  I  was,  for  the  most  part,  acting  as  a  spy  within  the 
enemy's  lines,  was  in  many  ways  much  the  most  interesting 
to  myself.  Whether  the  narrative  of  it  will  prove  the  most 
interesting  portion  of  this  volume,  I,  of  course,  cannot  tell. 
I  hope,  however,  that  the  reader,  having  followed  the  story 
of  my  fortunes  and  misfortunes  thus  far,  will  have  sufficient 
curiosity  to  keep  with  ine  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE   MILITARY  SECRET  SERVICE.  — RETURN   FROM  A 
SPYING  EXPEDITION. 

The  Duties  of  Spies.  —  The  Necessity  for  their  Employment.  —  The 
Status  of  Spies,  and  the  extraordinary  Perils  they  run.  —  Some  Remarks 
about  the  Secret  Service,  and  the  Necessity  for  its  Improvement.  —  I 
reach  the  Federal  Lines,  and  obtain  a  Pass  to  go  North  from  General 
Rosecrans.  —  On  my  Travels  in  search  of  Information.  — Arrival  at 
Martinsburg,  and  am  put  in  the  Room  of  a  Federal  Officer.  —  A  Dis 
turbance  in  the  Night.  —  "  Who  is  that  Woman  ?  "  —  I  make  an  advan 
tageous  Acquaintance.  —  A  polite  Quartermaster.  —  All  about  a  pre 
tended  dead  Brother.  —  How  Secret  Service  Agents  go  about  their 
Work.  —  A  Visit  to  my  pretended  Brother's  Grave,  and  what  I  gained 
by  it.  —  I  succeed  in  giving  one  of  Mosby's  Pickets  an  important  bit 
of  Information.  —  The  polite  Attention  of  Federal  Officers.  —  I  return 
to  Chatanooga,  and  resume  my  Confederate  Uniform.  —  A  perilous  At 
tempt  to  reach  the  Confederate  Lines.  —  What  a  Drink  of  Whiskey  can 
do.  —  I  become  Lame  in  my  wounded  Foot,  and  am  sent  to  Atlanta  for 
medical  Treatment. 

HE  position  and  duties  of  spies  are  little  under 
stood  by  persons  who  have  had  no  actual  expe 
rience  of  warfare,  and  who,  consequently,  are 
unable  to  understand  the  multitude  of  agencies 
it  is  requisite  for  the  commanders  of  armies 
and  the  heads  of  governments,  which  may  find  it  neces 
sary  to  make  an  appeal  to  arms  in  order  to  settle  their 
differences,  to  resort  to  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
ends  they  have  in  view.  Just  as  the  quartermaster, 
the  commissary,  the  paymaster,  and  the  surgeon  are 
as  important  as  the  generals,  —  if  any  fighting  worthy  of  the 
name  is  to  be  done,  and  warfare  is  to  be  an  affair  of  sci 
ence  and  skill,  instead  of  a  mere  trial  of  brute  force) —  so  the 
spy,  who  will  be  able  to  obtain  information  of  the  movements 
of  the  enemy  ;  who  will  discover  the  plans  for  campaigns  and 
battles  that  are  being  arranged  ;  who  will  intercept  despatches ; 
who  will  carry  false  intelligence  to  the  enemy,  and  who,  when 
he  does  become  possessed  of  any  fact  worth  knowing,  will 

298 


CONCERNING  SPIES.  299 

prove  himself  prompt  and  reliable  in  taking  it,  or  sending  it  to 
headquarters,  is  indispensable  to  the  success  of  any  movement. 
The  spy,  however,  occupies  a  different  position  from  that 
held  by  any  other  attach^  of  an  army.  According  to  all  mil 
itary  law  he  is  an  outlaw,  and  is  liable  to  be  hung  if  detected 
—  the  death  of  a  soldier  even  being  denied  him.  Nothing  has 
been  left  undone  to  render  the  labors  of  the  spy  not  only  per 
ilous  in  the  extreme,  but  infamous ;  and  yet  the  spy  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a  detective  officer,  and  there  cannot  be  any 
good  and  sufficient  reason  assigned  for  the  discredit  which 
attaches  to  his  occupation.  It  is  simply  one  of  the  prejudices 
which,  having  no  substantial  foundation,  have  been  carefully 
fostered  by  military  men  for  their  own  purposes,  and  it  is  high 
time  that  it  should  be  given  up  by  sensible  people. 

SPIES  AND   THEIR  LABORS. 

During  the  war  a  vast  deal  of  the  most  important  kind  of 
work  was  performed  by  spies  on  both  sides,  and  these  secret  em 
issaries,  men  and  women,  labored  with  a  diligence,  a  zeal,  and 
an  intelligence  in  the  execution  of  tasks  of  enormous  peril,  that 
was  rarely  equalled,  and  never  surpassed,  by  those  who  had 
the  actual  work  of  fighting  to  do.  The  fate  of  more  than  one 
battle  was  decided,  not  so  much  by  the  valor  of  the  soldier,  as 
by  the  movements  which  the  generals  were  able  to  make 
through  information  furnished  them  by  spies;  and  more  than 
one  commanding  officer  has  testified,  in  hearty  terms  of  appro 
bation,  to  the  efficiency  and  fidelity  of  the  secret  service 
agents  who  have  aided  him. 

The  spy  must,  of  necessity,  perform  his  work  amid  the  most 
perilous  environments.  Self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of 
nature  and  of  armies  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  a  general  to  make 
it  an  exceedingly  dangerous  business  for  the  secret  emissaries 
of  the  enemy  to  penetrate  his  lines  for  the  purpose  of  picking 
up  useful  bits  of  knowledge.  There  is  no  reason,  however, 
why,  in  this  civilized  age,  when,  as  every  one  knows,  spies  are 
freely  employed  by  all  commanders,  and  their  services  are 
appreciated  at  the  highest  value,  this  class  of  agents  should 
not  have  their  status  fixed  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner  than 
it  is.  The  agent  of  a  secret  service  bureau  ought  to  have  the 
same  immunity  that  any  other  combatant  has.  We  shoot 
guerrillas,  or  unauthorized  combatants,  and  so,  perhaps,  we 
might  continue  to  hang  unauthorized  spies;  but  a  regular 


300  THE  SECRET  SERVICE. 

attach^  of  a  secret  service  bureau  should  have  some  recog 
nized  rights,  which  even  the  enemy  would  be  bound  to  re 
spect. 

I  admit  that  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  any  such 
arrangement  as  this  ;  for,  from  the  peculiar  manner  in  which 
a  spy  carries  on  his  operations,  it  is  often  necessary  that  he 
should  be  known  to  be  what  he  is  to  no  one  but  his  confiden 
tial  superior,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  some  of  the  most  im 
portant  enterprises  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  carry  about  him, 
in  any  shape,  evidences  of  who  or  what  he  is  ;  still,  something 
might  be  done  to  improve  the  barbarous  methods  now  in 
vogue  of  dealing  with  military  detectives ;  for  it  is  preposter 
ous  to  attempt  to  regard  them  in  the  light  of  outlaws,  when 
they  are  acting  as  much  under  the  orders  of  responsible  su 
periors  as  are  the  men  who  shoulder  the  muskets. 

Having  been  for  a  long  period  a  spy  myself,  and  a  very 
successful  one,  arid  having  been  engaged  in  many  as  hazardous 
and  responsible  enterprises  as  usually  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  secret 
agent  of  a  belligerent  power,  I  naturally  feel  a,  so  to  speak,  pro 
fessional  interest  in  this  matter.  Otherwise,  however,  it  does 
not  concern  me  personally  what  may  be  done,  or  left  undone, 
in  the  way  of  organizing  the  detective  forces  of  the  armies  of 
the  future.  I  am  well  out  of  the  business,  with  a  conscious 
ness  of  having  served  the  cause  I  advocated  with  zeal  and 
efficiency ;  and  as  1  did  not  fear  danger  while  engaged  in 
secret  service  duty,  so  I  feel  no  compunctions  in  relating  the 
particulars  of  a  number  of  transactions  which,  at  first  sight, 
the  reader  may  think  were  not  to  my  credit.  All  I  ask  is,  that 
fair-minded  persons,  who  will  do  me  the  honor  to  peruse  this 
portion  of  my  narrative,  will  remember  that  the  circumstances 
were  not  ordinary  ones.  I  was  mixed  up  in  a  good  deal  of 
most  rascally  business ;  but  it  was  my  associates,  and  not 
myself,  who  were  deserving  of  condemnation.  Their  motive 
was  gain,  and  gain  at  the  expense  of  a  government  and  people 
that  trusted  them,  and  to  the  detriment  of  a  cause  which  they 
professed  to  hold  sacred.  I,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  secret 
agent  of  the  enemy,  who  considered  that  pretty  much  anything 
was  fair  in  war,  and  that  I  was  justified  in  inflicting  all  the 
damage  to  the  enemies  of  my  cause  that  I  was  able,  whether 
by  fighting  them  with  arms  in  my  hands  in  the  open  field,  or 
by  encouraging  treason  within  their  own  ranks.  That  I 
associated  with  traitors,  and  strove  to  make  men  betray  the 
cause  to  which  they  were  bound  by  every  tie  of  honor  and 


OBTAINING  A  PASS  FROM  ROSECRANS.          301 

duty,  did  not  render  them  less  despicable  to  me ;  and  I  even 
now  shudder  to  think  of  the  depravities  of  human  nature 
which  my  career  as  a  secret  agent  of  the  Confederate  govern 
ment  revealed  to  me. 


WITHIN  THE  FEDERAL  LINES. 

But  it  will  be  enough  to  speak  of  these  things  when  the 
proper  time  comes ;  and  my  special  task  just  now  is  to  relate 
the  prosecution  of  my  adventures  after  quitting  the  farm 
house,  where  I  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  clothing  I 
needed  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  particular  enterprise 
I  had  on  hand. 

Luckily  for  me  no  one  observed  my  movements,  and  I  made 
my  way  to  the  nearest  Federal  picket  station  without  inter 
ruption.  I  gave  my  name  as  Mrs.  Williams,  told  as  much  as  I 
thought  the  officer  in  charge  ought  to  know  about  me,  and 
asked  to  see  General  Rosecrans.  I  was  accordingly  ushered 
into  the  general's  presence,  and  gave  him  a  somewhat  more 
detailed  account  of  myself. 

I  represented  that  I  was  a  widow  woman,  who  was  endeav 
oring  to  escape  from  the  Confederacy,  and  who  desired  to  go 
to  her  friends  in  the  North ;  and,  judging  from  appearances,  I 
quite  won  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  Federal  commander. 
He  asked  me  a  great  number  of  questions,  which  I  answered 
to  his  satisfaction,  and  he  then  dismissed  me,  with  a  pass  per 
mitting  me  to  go  North.  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the 
ease  with  which  I  deceived  General  Rosecrans,  and  said  to 
myself,  as  I  retired  from  his  presence,  "  My  good  old  fellow, 
I'll  teach  you  what  we  Southern  women  are  good  for  before 
I  am  done  with  you." 

Having  got  my  pass,  I  started  off,  with  a  general  notion  of 
seeing  all  I  could  see,  and  finding  out  all  I  could  find  out, 
watching  all  the  time  for  an  opportunity  for  the  execution  of 
a  grand  coup.  Picking  up  information  here  and  there,  some 
of  which  was  of  no  little  importance,  I  travelled  as  far  as 
Martinsburg,  and  had  a  considerable  notion  of  proceeding  to 
Washington,  to  see  whether  a  second  visit  to  that  city  would 
not  be  even  more  productive  of  results  than  my  first.  Cir 
cumstances  occurred,  however,  which  detained  me  in  Martins- 
burg,  and  my  trip  to  Washington  was,  therefore,  deferred  to 
another  opportunity,  and  when  the  opportunity  arrived  the 
reader  may  be  assured  that  I  made  good  use  of  it. 


302  IN  THE  WRONG  ROOM. 

It  was  after  night  when  I  reached  Martinsburg,  and  the 
only  unoccupied  room  in  the  hotel  where  I  stopped  was  the 
one  belonging  to  a  Federal  quartermaster,  that  officer  having 
been  called  away  to  Washington.  The  landlord,  accordingly, 
put  me  in  there,  and  I  proceeded  to  make  myself  as  much  at 
home  as  possible  in  the  quartermaster's  quarters.  As  luck 
would  have  it,  however,  the  officer  returned  during  the  night, 
and  after  I  had  retired,  and  finding  the  door  bolted,  he  com 
menced  a  furious  knocking. 

A  DISTURBANCE. 

I  was  asleep  when  he  began  to  make  this  noise,  and  it  caused 
me  to  wake  with  a  start.  I  had  no  idea  who  it  was,  but 
thought  some  drunken  fellow  was  making  a  disturbance.  I 
therefore  concluded  not  to  take  any  notice,  thinking  that  when 
he  found  he  could  not  get  in  he  would  go  away.  The  quar 
termaster,  however,  was  angry  at  finding  his  room  occupied, 
and  being  unable  to  obtain  a  response,  finally  said,  "  Open 
the  door,  inside  there,  or  I  will  break  it  open ! " 

I  thought  that  it  was  high  time  for  me  to  speak  now,  and 
so  said,  in  a  half  terrified  tone  of  voice,  "  Who  are  you  ? 
What  do  you  want?" 

Finding  that  his  apartment  had  a  feminine  occupant,  he 
lowered  his  voice  somewhat,  and  said,  "  Excuse  me,  madam," 
and  walked  to  the  office,  where  he  gave  the  clerk  some  sharp 
words  for  permitting  any  one  to  take  his  room. 

I  heard  him  say,  "  I  would  like  thundering  well  to  know 
who  she  is ;  "  but  the  clerk  was  unable  to  give  him  any  satis 
factory  information,  and  the  upshot  of  the  whole  matter  was, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  parlor,  the  clerk  apolo 
gizing  for  the  inconvenience  caused  him,  by  saying  that  he  did 
not  know  he  was  going  to  return  so  soon. 

The  next  morning  I  overheard  the  quartermaster  say  to  the 
old  negro  porter,  "  Uncle  George,  do  you  know  who  that 
woman  is  that  they  put  into  my  room  last  night?  " 

"  No,  sah ;  I  doesn't  know,  sab,"  replied  the  darkey. 

"  What  train  did  she  come  on  ?  " 

"  On  the  western  train,  I  believe,  sah." 

"  Was  anybody  with  her  ?  " 

"  Not  as  I  knows  of.     I  didn't  see  anybody  with  her,  sah." 

"  Is  she  good  looking  ?  " 


APOLOGETIC.  303 

"  Yes,  sah ;  she's  a  pretty  good  looking  lady,  sah." 

This  was  flattering ;  and  the  compliment  was  the  greater  as 
it  was  evidently  not  intended  for  my  ears,  and  I  resolved 
to  myself  that  Uncle  George's  good  taste  should  be  properly 
rewarded. 

This  conversation  served  to  give  me  a  hint  as  to  the  kind 
of  man  I  had  to  deal  with  in  the  quartermaster,  and  I  doubted 
not  that  if  my  good  looks  made  anything  like  as  favorable  an 
impression  on  him  as  they  apparently  had  done  on  Uncle 
George,  I  would  have  but  little  difficulty  in  inducing  him  to 
tell  me  a  good  many  things  that  it  would  be  highly  advan 
tageous  for  me  to  know,  but  which  it  would  not  be  exactly 
according  to  the  regulations  of  the  Federal  army  for  him  to 
reveal  to  a  Confederate  spy. 

Having  made  my  morning  toilet,  and  having,  in  anticipation 
of  striking  up  an  acquaintance  with  the  quartermaster,  en 
deavored  to  make  myself  as  attractive  as  possible  in  outward 
appearance,  I  left  my  room,  and  went  and  took  a  seat  in  the 
parlor.  It  was  not  long  before  I  saw  my  gentleman,  or  one 
whom  I  supposed  to  be  he,  walking  past  the  door,  and  looking 
at  me  with  a  rather  curious  gaze.  I,  however,  took  no  notice 
of  him,  concluding  that  it  would  be  more  to  the  purpose  to 
let  him  make  the  first  advances,  something  that  he  was  evi 
dently  not  indisposed  to  do. 

Breakfast  was  announced  as  ready  before  a  great  while,  and 
with  the  announcement  came  the  quartermaster's  opportunity 
to  introduce  himself  to  me.  Advancing  towards  me,  he 
bowed  very  politely,  and  said,  "  Are  you  Mrs.  Williams  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  I  replied ;  "  that  is  my  name." 

Smiling  as  agreeably  as  he  could,  he  said,  "  I  owe  you  an 
apology,  madam,  for  the  disturbance  I  made  at  your  door  last 
night.  I  was  not  aware  that  there  was  a  lady  in  possession 
of  the  room." 

"  0,  sir,"  I  said,  "  no  apology  is  necessary,  I  assure  you. 
Indeed,  I  rather  owe  you  one,  for  I  fear  I  must  have  caused 
you  some  inconvenience." 

"  0,  not  at  all,  madam.  On  the  contrary,  when  I  learned 
that  a  lady  had  possession  of  the  apartment,  I  regretted  ex 
ceedingly  that  I  had  made  so  much  noise.  We  officers  of  the 
army,  however,  are  inclined  to  become  rather  rough  in  our 
ways,  owing  to  the  associations  we  are  thrown  in  with,  and  to 
our  absence  from  female  society.  We  forget,  sometimes,  that 
we  are  civilized  human  beings,  and  don't  know  exactly  how 


304  SECRET   SERYICE   METHODS. 

to  behave  ourselves  under  circumstances  where  rudeness  is 
inexcusable. 

"  0,  pray,  sir,  don't  apologize,"  I  answered ;  "  I  am  sure 
that  an  officer  of  our  brave  army  would  not  be  intentionally 
rude  under  any  circumstances."  I  thought  that  this  would 
do  to  start  the  idea  in  his  mind  that  I  was  a  stanch  Federal. 

Just  then  a  colored  woman  appeared,  and  asked  us  whether 
we  would  not  walk  into  breakfast ;  and  my  new-made  friend 
very  politely  said,  "  As  you  are  a  stranger  here,  will  you 
permit  me  to  escort  you  to  the  breakfast-room?" 

"  Certainly,  sir,"  I  replied ;  and  taking  his  arm,  we  walked 
into  the  room  together,  my  escort  finding  a  seat  for  me  beside 
himself  at  one  of  the  pleasantest  tables. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meal,  my  friend  manifested  the 
greatest  interest  in  me  and  my  movements,  and  by  a  series 
of  questions,  he  elicited  the  information  that  I  was  from 
Cincinnati,  that  I  was  uncertain  how  long  I  would  remain, 
and  that  I  was  in  search  of  a  brother,  whom  I  greatly 
feared  was  either  killed  or  wounded,  as  he  had  not  been  heard 
of  for  an  unusually  long  time. 

CONCERNING  A  BOGUS  BROTHER. 

The  little  game  I  was  playing  with  the  quartermaster  will 
serve  as  a  very  fair  specimen  of  the  methods  which  a  secret 
service  agent  is  compelled  to  use  for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
such  information  as  is  desired.  A  spy,  or  a  detective,  must 
have  a  quick  eye,  a  sharp  ear,  a  retentive  memory,  and  a 
talent  for  taking  advantage  of  small,  and  apparently  unimpor 
tant  points,  as  aids  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  in 
view.  While  making  the  journey  which  had  brought  me  as 
far  as  Martinsburg,  I  had,  of  course,  kept  my  eyes  and  ears 
open,  and  had  consequently  accumulated  quite  an  extensive 
stock  of  knowledge  which  I  thought  might  be  useful  some  time. 
Among  other  things,  I  had  learned  the  name  of  a  Federal 
soldier  belonging  to  General  Averill's  command,  and  I  made  a 
mental  note  of  it  for  future  reference.  I  cannot  recollect,  at 
this  distance  of  time  from  the  incident,  whether  I  accident 
ally  saw  this  name  in  a  newspaper,  or  whether  I  overheard  it 
mentioned  in  conversation  between  people  near  me  in  the 
cars.  How  I  obtained  it,  however,  is  a  matter  of  small  conse 
quence,  for  that  I  might  have  done  in  a  thousand  ways.  At 
all  events  I  had  the  name,  and  my  purpose  now  was  to  use  it 


GETTING   INFORMATION.  305 

as  a  means  of  making  the  Federal  officer  by  my  side  at  the 
hotel  table  useful  to  me. 

My  friend  asked  me  what  company  my  brother  belonged 
to,  but  I  said  that  I  could  not  tell  him  that.  All  I  knew  was, 
that  he  was  under  Averill,  and  that,  as  the  command  had  been 
engaged  in  some  sharp  fighting  lately,  his  family,  as  they  had 
not  heard  from  him,  were  becoming  exceedingly  anxious. 

I  believe  that  I  wiped  'the  semblance  of  a  tear  from  my 
eye  as  I  told  all  this,  and  looked  as  distressed  as  possible,  in 
the  hope  of  working  on  the  quartermaster's  sympathies.  He 
proved  as  sympathetic  as  I  could  have  desired ;  and  bidding 
me  not  to  distress  myself  unnecessarily,  but  to  hope  for  the 
best,  he  promised  to  undertake  to  find  out  for  me  where  my 
brother  was,  if  still  alive,  or,  if  it  should  turn  out  that  he  had 
been  killed,  where  he  was  buried. 

Accordingly,  when  we  had  finished  breakfast,  he  escorted 
me  back  to  the  parlor,  and  then,  saying  au  revoir,  he  went 
immediately  to  headquarters  to  inspect  the  roll  of  the  com 
mand.  Before  a  great  while  he  returned,  and,  with  a  very 
sorrowful  countenance,  stated  that  it  gave  him  pain  to  tell  me 
that  my  dear  brother  was  dead. 

"  0,  that  is  awful !  "  I  cried,  and  began  to  go  on  at  quite  a 
rate,  actually,  I  believe,  squeezing  out  a  few  real  tears. 

My  friend  tried  to  soothe  me  as  well  as  he  could,  and  finally, 
becoming  calm,  in  response  to  repeated  requests  to  do  so  on 
his  part,  I  asked  him  where  Dick  was  buried,  and  declared 
that  I  must  visit  his  grave. 

That  I  should  desire  to  see,  and  to  weep  over,  the  grave  of 
my  dear  departed  brother,  seemed  to  the  quartermaster  both 
reasonable  and  natural,  and  he  said  that  he  would  get  an 
ambulance  and  take  me  to  the  burial-place. 

AT  MY  SUPPOSED  BROTHER'S  GRAVE. 

Before  many  moments,  therefore,  the  vehicle  was  in  attend 
ance,  and  my  friend  and  I  drove  out  to  where  my  supposititious 
brother  was  buried.  It  was  now  my  turn  to  question ;  and  my 
escort  proved  to  be  so  exceedingly  communicative,  that  before 
we  returned  to  the  hotel,  I  was  informed  of  the  exact  number 
of  troops  in  the  neighborhood,  their  positions,  their  command 
ers,  where  the  enemy  were  supposed  to  be  located,  who  they 
were  commanded  by,  the  results  of  the  recent  conflicts,  and  a 
variety  of  other  matters  of  more  or  less  importance.  The 
20 


306  RETURN  TO   CHATTANOOGA. 

man  was  as  innocent  and  as  unsuspicious  as  a  new-born  babe, 
and  I  could  scarcely  keep  from  laughing  sometimes  at  the 
eagerness  he  displayed  in  telling  me  all  manner  of  things  that, 
had  he  been  possessed  of  ordinary  common  sense,  he  would 
never  have  revealed  to  any  one,  much  less  to  a  total  stranger, 
with  regard  to  whose  antecedents  he  knew  absolutely  nothing. 

Some  of  the  information  thus  obtained  I  knew  would  be  of 
vital  importance  to  the  Confederates,  could  it  be  conveyed  to 
them  immediately.  I  therefore  made  my  arrangement,  and 
that  night  slipped  through  the  Federal  lines,  and  told  all  that 
I  had  to  tell  to  one  of  Mosby's  pickets.  With  that  extraor 
dinary  good  luck  which  so  often  attends  bold  adventures,  I 
succeeded  in  getting  back  without  being  observed  or  sus 
pected,  and  my  escort  of  the  morning  was  never  the  wiser 
by  the  knowledge  that  his  silly  talkativeness  had  produced 
such  good  results  for  the  Confederacy. 

I  remained  about  a  week  in  Martinsburg,  and  enjoyed 
myself  immensely.  Not  only  my  friend,  the  quartermaster, 
but  a  number  of  other  officers  paid  me  very  marked  atten 
tions,  and  I  was  soon  quite  a  rival  to  the  belles  of  the  place. 
I  did  not  have  another  opportunity  to  communicate  with  the 
Confederate  forces  ;  but  this  week  was  not  an  idle  one,  never 
theless,  and  by  the  time  it  was  ended,  I  was  in  possession  of  a 
large  number  of  facts  that  were  well  worth  knowing.  While 
still  undecided  whether  to  push  on  farther  or  not,  I  received 
some  intelligence  which  induced  me  to  think  it  better  to 
return. 

When  I  announced  that  I  was  about  to  depart,  my  friends, 
the  officers,  expressed  the  greatest  regret.  The  quartermas 
ter  said,  "  We  shall  miss  you  greatly  ;  you  have  made  your 
self  so  agreeable  since  you  have  been  here,  that  we  shall 
scarcely  know  what  to  do  without  you." 

I  said  that  I  was  sorry  to  go,  but  that  my  family  was  anxious 
for  my  return ;  and  as  I  bade  the  quartermaster  good-by,  I 
declared  that  I  had  half  a  mind  to  turn  detective,  for  the 
purpose  of  catching  the  rebel  who  killed  Dick.  The  quarter 
master  insisted  that  I  should  write  to  him  when  I  got  home ; 
and  on  his  stating  that  he  had  a  notion  to  come  and  see  me 
when  the  war  was  over,  I  gave  him  a  pressing  invitation  to 
do  so,  thinking  that  he  would  have  a  good  time  in  finding  me. 

But  when  I  got  back  to  Chattanooga,  I  had  some  trouble  in 
making  any  farther  progress  ;  but  by  representing  myself  as  a 


A  DANGEROUS  NIGHT   TRAMP.  307 

soldier's  wife,  and  expressing  an  extreme  anxiety  to  see  my 
husband,  I  was  permitted  to  remain  within  the  Federal  lines, 
but  was  not  afforded  any  particular  facilities  for  finding  out 
anything  worth  knowing.  My  anxiety  now  was  to  regain  the 
Confederate  lines  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  As  I  knew 
the  country  pretty  well,  I  felt  certain  of  being  able  to  find 
the  farm-house  where  I  had  left  my  uniform,  if  I  could  only 
get  a  chance  to  go  to  it.  Fortune  favors  the  brave  in  a 
majority  of  cases,  and  ere  long  I  was  enabled  to  reach  the 
house,  but  only  to  find  that  it  had  been  burned,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  smoke-house  and  kitchen,  was  a  mass  of 
charred  ruins. 

I  confess  that  my  heart  sank  within  me  when  I  saw  that  the 
house  had  been  destroyed,  for  I  would  have  been  in  a  nice 
predicament,  and  without  my  masculine  garments  would  have 
been  even  more  unwelcome  among  the  Confederates  than  I 
was  among  the  Federals.  To  my  great  joy,  however,  I  dis 
covered  the  ash-barrel  just  where  I  had  placed  it  and  unharmed, 
and  in  a  few  moments  I  had  discarded  my  feminine  raiment, 
and  was  once  more  in  the  guise  of  a  Confederate  officer.  The 
costume  I  wore,  however,  was  not  one  in  which  I  could  appear 
with  impunity  in  that  neighborhood,  and  it  was  necessary, 
therefore,  that  I  should  make  haste  to  get  where  it  would  be 
regarded  with  friendly  feelings. 

Ere  many  moments  I  was  crawling  through  the  underbrush 
and  under  the  fences,  with  my  coat  and  cap  tied  up  in  a  bundle, 
so  that  I  could  drop  them  in  case  of  necessity.  In  this  way  I 
worked  myself  slowly  and  cautiously  along  for  several  hours 
during  the  night:  in  the  direction  of  the  Confederate  outposts. 
When  it  was  light  enough  for  me  to  see  with  reasonable  dis 
tinctness,  I  made  a  reconnoisance,  and  concluded  that  I  must 
have  been  within  the  Confederate  lines  for  more  than  an  hour. 

To  my  left  I  saw  the  railroad  track  tolerably  close  to  the 
road  I  was  on,  and  the  smoke  of  the  camp  was  clearly  visible* 
I  then  crept  back  into  the  bush  and  made  for  the  nearest 
camp,  not  wishing  to  be  stopped  either  by  friend  or  foe  at  this 
particular  point.  Before  I  reached  the  point  I  was  aiming  at, 
however,  I  was  compelled  to  take  a  rest,  for  the  kind  of 
travelling  I  had  been  doing  was  the  hardest  kind  of  hard  work, 
and  I  was  tolerably  well  used  up.  Drawing  on  my  coat, 
therefore,  I  sat  down  and  began  to  think  what  story  it  would 
be  best  for  me  to  tell  in  order  to  obtain  such  a  reception  as  I 


308  A  USEFUL  WHISKEY  FLASK. 

desired.  After  turning  over  the  matter  in  my  mind,  I  con 
cluded  to  represent  myself  as  an  escaped  prisoner  belonging 
to  Morgan's  command. 

BACK  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  LINES. 

Having  thoroughly  arranged  my  plan  of  action  in  my  mind, 
I  walked  up  boldly  to  a  picket,  whom  I  saw  sitting  on  a  horse 
at  some  distance,  and  saluting  him,  and  telling  him  that  I  was 
unarmed,  asked  to  see  the  officer  of  the  guard.  The  officer 
soon  came  riding  out  of  the  woods  towards  me,  and  asked  who 
I  was.  I  told  him  that  I  was  an  escaped  prisoner,  and  that  I 
belonged  to  Morgan's  command,  and  produced  my  transporta 
tion  papers  and  the  letter  to  General  Polk,  which  had  been 
given  to  me  in  the  early  part  of  the  war.  The  officer  read 
the  papers,  which  he  apparently  did  not  find  particularly 
satisfactory,  and  scanned  me  very  closely,  as  if  he  thought 
that  there  was  something  not  quite  right  about  me.  <rt 

I  was  much  afraid  lest  he  should  suspect  something,  for  I 
had  no  mustache,  and  having  become  somewhat  bleached,  was 
not  by  any  means  so  masculine  in  appearance  as  I  had  been 
at  one  time.  I,  however,  bore  his  scrutiny  without  flinching, 
and  he  apparently  did  not  know  what  to  do  but  to  receive  me 
for  what  I  appeared  to  be.  He  accordingly  told  me  that  I 
should  have  to  wait  where  I  was  until  the  relief  came,  when 
he  would  conduct  me  to  camp. 

I  told  him  that  I  was  terribly  hungry  and  tired,  having 
walked  from  Chattanooga  since  early  in  the  previous  evening 
without  food  or  sleep,  and  that  I  would  like  to  get  where  I 
could  obtain  some  breakfast.  As  a  means  of  softening  his 
heart,  I  pulled  out  a  little  pocket  flask  of  whiskey,  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  not  take  a  drink.  His  eye  brightened  at  the 
sight  of  the  flask,  and  he  accepted  my  invitation  without  a 
moment's  hesitation.  Putting  it  to  his  lips,  he  took  a  good 
pull,  and  when  he  handed  it  back  there  was  mighty  little  left 
in  it.  This  little  I  gave  to  the  sergeant,  who  appeared  to 
relish  the  liquor  as  highly  as  his  superior  did.  The  whiskey 
had  the  desired  effect ;  for  the  officer  told  me  he  guessed  I 
had  better  not  wait  for  the  relief,  and  detailed  a  man  to  show 
me  the  way  to  camp. 

On  our  arrival  at  camp,  the  man  took  me  to  the  officer's 
tent,  where  I  made  myself  as  much  at  home  as  I  could  until 


LAMENESS.  309 

the  master  appeared.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he 
followed  me,  and  to  my  great  satisfaction,  an  excellent  break 
fast  was  in  a  short  time  placed  on  the  table. 

After  breakfast,  the  boys,  having  heard  of  the  arrival  of  an 
escaped  prisoner,  I  was  speedily  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
eager  questioners,  who  were  anxious  to  hear  all  the  news 
from  the  Federal  army.  I  tried  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  as 
well  as  I  could,  and  told  them  that  the  Yankees  had  received 
heavy  re-enforcements,  and  were  preparing  to  make  a  grand 
movement,  and  a  variety  of  other  matters,  part  fact  and  part 
fiction.  Having  got  rid  of  my  questioners,  I  took  a  good 
sleep  until  noon,  and  then,  borrowing  a  horse,  rode  down  to 
Dalton,  where  I  learned  that  Captain  De  Caulp  was  sick  at 
Atlanta,  and  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  get  there  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  him. 

I  was  spared  the  necessity,  however,  of  being  obliged  to 
make  any  special  plans  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  end, 
for  I  managed  to  severely  hurt  the  foot  which  had  been 
wounded  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  and  became 
so  lame  that  it  was  decided  to  send  me  to  Atlanta  for  medical 
treatment. 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 

IN    THE    HOSPITAL. 

The  Kind  of  People  an  Army  is  made  up  of.  —  Gentlemen  and  Blackguards. 
—  The  Demoralization  of  Warfare.  —  How  I  managed  to  keep  out  of  Dif 
ficulties.  —  The  Value  of  a  Fighting  Reputation.  —  A  Quarrel  with  a 
drunken  General.  —  I  threaten  to  shoot  him. — My  Illness,  and  the  kind 
Attentions  received  from  Friends.  —  I  am  admitted  to  the  Empire  Hos 
pital. —  The  Irksomeness  of  a  Sick-bed. —  I  learn  that  my  Lover  is  in 
the  same  Hospital,  and  resolve  to  see  him  as  soon  as  I  am  convalescent. 

N  army  is  made  up  of  all  kinds  of  people, — 
the  rougher  element  of  masculine  human 
nature,  of  necessity,  predominating;  and  not 
the  least  of  the  evil  effect  of  a  great  war  is, 
that  it  tends  to  develop  a  spirit  of  ruffian 
ism,  which,  when  times  of  peace  return,  is  of 
no  benefit  to  society.  A  man  who  is  instinctively  a 
gentleman,  will  be  one  always,  and  in  spite  of  the 
demoralizing  influences  of  warfare  ;  but  one  who  is 
only  a  gentleman  by  brevet,  and  whose  native  black 
guardism  is  only  concealed  on  ordinary  occasions  by  a  super 
ficial  polish  of  cultivation,  will  be  apt  to  show  himself  a  black 
guard  at  the  earliest  opportunity  amidst  camp  associations. 
Such  men  are  usually  cringing  sycophants  before  their  supe 
riors,  bullies  to  those  who  are  under  them,  shirks  when  fight 
ing  is  going  on,  and  plunderers  when  opportunities  for  plunder 
are  offered.  It  is  creditable  to  the  American  people,  as  a 
class,  that  the  great  armies  which  contended  with  each  other 
so  earnestly  during  four  long,  weary  years  of  warfare,  were 
disbanded  and  dismissed  to  their  homes  with  so  little  injury 
to  society  ;  for,  under  the  very  best  auspices,  war  is  not  cal 
culated  to  make  men  good  citizens,  while  it  is  pretty  certain 
to  make  those  who  are  ruffians  and  blackguards  already,  worse 
than  they  were  before  they  took  up  arms. 

During  the  time  that  I  wore  the  uniform  of  a  Confederate 
officer,  I  was,  of  course,  brought  into  contact  with  all  sorts  of 

310 


ADVANTAGES    OF   A   FIGHTING   REPUTATION.  311 

people,  —  blackguards  as  well  as  gentlemen,  —  and  had  some 
pretty  good  opportunities  for  studying  masculine  character. 
The  warnings  that  had  been  given  me  with  regard  to  the 
most  peculiarly  unpleasant  and  disgusting  features  of  camp 
life,  I  very  speedily  discovered  were  only  too  well  founded ; 
and  had  1  been  possessed  by  a  less  fervid  enthusiasm  for 
the  cause,  or  a  less  resolute  determination  to  carry  out  my  pur 
pose,  I  might  at  an  early  day  have  given  the  whole  thing  up 
in  disgust.  I  got  accustomed,  however,  in  time  to  rough,  pro 
fane,  even  dirty  language,  and  did  not  mind  it ;  or,  at  least,  did 
not  permit  myself  to  be  annoyed  by  it.  The  best  and  most 
highly  esteemed  of  my  acquaintances  in  the  army  permitted 
themselves  a  license  of  language  and  conduct  that  they  would 
not  have  ventured  upon  in  the  society  of  ladies  ;  but  this, 
while  it  shocked  me  somewhat  at  first,  I  finally  came  to  regard 
as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  when  I  heard  things  from  the  lips 
of  those  whom  I  knew  to  be  gentlemen  at  heart,  which  offended 
my  ears,  I  regarded  the  annoyance  I  felt  as  one  of  the  penal 
ties  of  the  anomalous  position  I  occupied,  and  very  speedily 
learned  to  bear  with  it. 

It  was  different,  however,  with  another  class  of  men,  who 
seemed  to  take  delight  in  showing,  on  every  possible  occasion, 
what  consummate  blackguards  they  were.  These  I  ever  re 
garded  with  loathing  and  contempt ;  and  I  hope  that  some 
of  them  will  undertake  the  perusal  of  this  narrative,  in  order 
that  they  may  know  what  I  think  of  them. 

KEEPING  THE  PEACE. 

With  the  ruffianly  elements  of  an  army  it  was  exceedingly 
difficult  for  decent,  peaceably-disposed  people  to  get  along  on 
any  terms.  An  indisposition  to  quarrel  was  regarded  as  an 
evidence  of  cowardice;  and  as  your  genuine  bully  delights  in 
nothing  more  than  in  tormenting  one  whom  he  imagines  will 
not  fight,  a  reputation  for  being  willing  to  fight,  on  the  shortest 
notice,  is  an  excellent  thing  to  have  by  one  who  desires  to 
avoid  getting  into  difficulties. 

Situated  as  I  was,  it  was  especially  important  that  I  should 
not  quarrel  if  I  could  help  it ;  but  I  was  not  long  in  finding 
out  that,  as  quarrelling  was  necessary  sometimes,  the  bold 
course  was  the  best,  both  for  the  present  and  the  future,  and 
that  by  promptly  resenting  anything  approaching  an  insult, 
I  would  be  likely  to  avoid  being  insulted  thereafter.  I,  there- 


312  A  LITTLE  UNPLEASANTNESS. 

fore,  very  speedily  let  it  be  known  that  I  was  ready  to  fight 
at  a  moment's  notice,  if  there  was  any  real  occasion  for  fight 
ing  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  desired  to  live  peaceably 
with  everybody,  and  was  not  inclined  to  quarrel  if  I  was  let 
alone.  The  result  of  this  line  of  policy  was,  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  I  got  along  smoothly  enough,  but  occasionally  I  could  not 
avoid  an  angry  controversy  with  somebody  ;  and  when  I  did 
become  involved  in  anything  of  the  kind,  I  usually  tried  to  give 
my  antagonist  to  understand,  in  plain  terms,  that  I  was  not  an 
individual  to  be  trifled  with. 

On  my  arrival  at  Atlanta,  I  unfortunately  had  a  little  un 
pleasantness,  which  caused  me  very  serious  disquietude  for  a 
time,  owing  to  the  peculiar  situation  in  which  I  was  placed, 
and  which  might  have  had  some  ill  results,  either  for  the  per 
son  who  started  the  quarrel  or  for  myself,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  good  judgment  and  consideration  of  one  or  two  of  my 
friends,  who  persuaded  me  not  to  resort  to  any  extreme 
measures. 

I  was  expecting  to  see  Captain  De  Caulp,  and  was  very 
anxious  with  regard  to  him,  as  I  did  not  know  exactly  what 
his  condition  was,  and  feared  that  he  might  be  seriously  ill. 
It  was  my  intention  to  go  to  him,  to  devote  myself  to  him  if 
he  should  need  my  services,  and  perhaps  to  reveal  myself  to 
him.  Indeed,  I  pretty  much  made  up  my  mind  that  our  mar 
riage  should  take  place  as  soon  as  he  was  convalescent ;  and, 
in  view  of  such  an  event  occurring  shortly,  I  was  in  no  humor 
for  a  mere  bar-room  squabble  with  a  drunken  ruffian,  and 
would  have  avoided  such  a  thing  at  almost  any  cost,  could  I 
have  had  warning  with  regard  to  its  probability.  More  than 
this,  in  addition  to  the  lameness  of  my  foot,  I  was  really  quite 
sick,  and  at  the  time  of  the  occurrence  ought  to  have  been 
in  bed  under  the  doctor's  care,  and  was  consequently  less  dis 
posed  than  ever  to  engage  in  a  brawl. 

A   DRUNK   AND   DISORDERLY   GENERAL. 

Unsuspecting  any  trouble,  however,  I  went  to  the  hotel, 
and  registered  my  name,  and  was  almost  immediately  sur 
rounded  by  a  number  of  officers,  who  were  eager  to  learn 
what  was  going  on  at  the  front.  Among  them  was  General 
P., —  I  do  not  give  his  name  in  full  for  his  own  sake, —  an 
individual  who  thought  more  of  whiskey  than  he  did  of  his 
future  existence,  and  who  was  employing  his  time  in  getting 


A   DRUNKEN   GENERAL.  313 

drunk  at  Atlanta,  instead  of  doing  his  duty  at  the  front  by  lead 
ing  his  men. 

He  saw  that  I  was  a  little  fellow,  and  probably  thought,  on 
that  account,  he  could  bully  me  with  impunity ;  so,  while  I 
was  answering  the  thousand  and  one  questions  that  were  put 
to  me,  he  began  making  offensive  and  insulting  remarks,  and 
asking  me  insolent  questions,  until  I  longed  to  give  him  a 
lesson  in  good  manners  that  he  would  not  forget  in  a  hurry, 
and  resolved  that  I  would  make  an  effort  to  chastise  him 
if  he  did  not  behave  himself. 

This  wras  one  of  the  class  of  men  for  which  I  had  a  hearty 
contempt ;  and,  as  I  neither  wished  to  be  annoyed  by  his 
drunken  insolence,  nor  to  quarrel  with  him  if  I  could  avoid  it, 
I  left  the  office  and  went  into  the  wash-room.  The  general  evi 
dently  considered  this  a  retreat  due  to  his  prowess, — prowess 
which  he  was  careful  not  to  make  any  great  display  of  within 
the  smell  of  gunpowder,  —  and  he  followed  me,  apparently 
determined  to  provoke  me  to  the  utmost.  I,  however,  took 
no  notice  of  him,  but,  after  washing  my  hands,  came  out  and 
took  a  seat  in  the  office  beside  my  esteemed  friend,  Major 
Bacon  —  a  thorough  gentleman  in  every  sense  of  the  word. 

My  persecutor  still  following  me,  now  came  and  seated  him 
self  on  the  other  side  of  me,  and  made  some  insolent  remark  — 
which  I  do  not  care  to  remember.  This  excited  my  wrath,  and 
I  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  the  tipsy  brute's  annoyances.  I 
accordingly  said  to  him,  "  See  here,  sir,  I  don't  want  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  you,  so  go  away  and  let  me  be,  or  it  will 
be  worse  for  you." 

At  this  he  sprang  up,  his  eyes  glaring  with  drunken  fury, 
and  swinging  his  arms  around  in  that  irresponsible  way  incident 
to  inebriety,  he  began  to  swear  in  lively  fashion,  and  said, 
"  What  11  be  worse  for  me  ?  What  do  you  mean  ?  Ill  lick 
you  out  of  your  boots !  I  can  lick  you,  or  any  dozen  like 
you/' 

Nice  talk,  this,  for  a  general,  who  was  supposably  a  gen 
tleman,  wasn't  it  ?  I  merely  said,  in  reply,  "  You  are  too 
drunk,  sir,  to  be  responsible.  I  intend,  however,  when  you 
are  sober,  that  you  shall  apologize  to  me  for  this,  or  else  make 
you  settle  it  in  a  way  that  will,  perhaps,  not  be  agreeable  to 
you." 

He  glared  at  me  as  I  uttered  these  words ;  but  my  firm 
manner  evidently  cowed  him,  and  turning,  with  a  coarse, 
tipsy  laugh,  he  said,  to  an  officer  who  was  standing  near 


314  SICKNESS. 

watching  the  performance,  "  Come;  colonel,  let's  take  another 
drink ;  he  won't  fight ;  "  and  they  accordingly  walked  off 
towards  the  bar-room  together. 

This  last  remark  enraged  me  to  such  a  degree,  that  I 
declared  I  would  shoot  him  if  he  came  near  me  again.  Major 
Bacon  tried  to  pacify  me,  and  said  that  I  had  better  let  him 
alone,  as  he  was  not  worth  noticing.  After  considerable  per 
suasion  1  concluded  that  there  was  very  little  credit  to  be  got 
by  following  up  a  quarrel  with  such  a  blackguard,  and  made 
up  my  mind  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  him,  if  it  was  possible 
to  avoid  him. 

The  general  did  not  come  near  me  until  after  supper,  when 
I  met  him  again  at  the  bar.  As  I  had  not  undertaken  to  pun 
ish  him  for  his  behavior  to  me,  he  evidently  thought  that  I 
was  afraid  of  him ;  and,  without  addressing  me  directly,  he 
began  to  make  insulting  side  remarks,  aimed  at  me.  I  was  on 
the  point  of  going  up  and  slapping  his  face,  when  Major  Bacon 
and  Lieutenant  Chamberlain,  thinking  that  it  was  not  worth 
while  for  me  to  get  into  trouble  about  such  a  fellow,  induced 
me  to  go  to  my  room. 

Already  quite  ill,  and  far  from  able  to  be  about,  the  excite 
ment  of  this  unpleasant  occurrence  made  me  worse,  and  I 
passed  a  night  of  great  suffering  from  a  high  fever,  and  from 
my  sore  foot,  which  pained  me  extremely.  The  major  waited 
on  me  in  the  kindest  manner,  bathing  my  foot  with  cold  water, 
and  procuring  some  medicine  for  me  from  the  hospital  stew 
ard,  and  towards  morning  I  fell  into  a  sound  sleep,  which 
refreshed  me  greatly,  although  I  was  still  very  sick. 

In  the  morning  Major  Bacon  ordered  me  some  breakfast,  of 
which,  however,  I  was  able  to  eat  but  little.  While  I  was 
breakfasting,  he  said,  "  How  are  you  off  for  money,  lieu 
tenant?" 

"  I  have  only  twenty-four  dollars  in  my  pocket  just  now," 
I  replied,  "  but  I  intend  to  send  to  Mobile  for  some  to-day." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "-  you  may  need  some  before  yours  comes, 
so  here's  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  at  your  service.  I  will 
have  to  leave  at  five  o'clock,  but  before  I  go  I  will  try  arid 
see  that  you  are  in  good  hands,  and  in  a  way  to  be  well  taken 
care  of." 

The  major  then  went  out,  and  about  two  o'clock  returned 
with  Dr.  Hay,  who  prescribed  for  me.  During  the  afternoon 
I  was  visited  by  a  number  of  my  friends,  who  appeared  to  be 
solicitous  for  my  welfare,  and  who  did  their  best  to  cheer  me 


WEARY  DAYS.  315 

up.  I  was  too  sick,  however,  to  enjoy  their  company  much, 
although  I  appreciated  their  kind  intentions.  I  really  felt  sad 
at  the  idea  of  being  forsaken  by  Major  Bacon,  who  would 
gladly  have  staid  by  me  had  he  not  been  under  positive 
orders  to  leave.  When  the  time  came  for  him  to  go,  he  shook 
me  by  the  hand,  and  said,  "  Lieutenant,  my  boy,  I  will  have 
to  leave  you  now.  Lieutenant  Chamberlain  and  the  doctor 
will  take  good  care  of  you,  and  I  hope  you  will  be  up  soon." 
I  asked  the  major  to  write  to  me,  and  he  promised  to  do  so, 
and  bidding  me  good-by,  he  took  his  departure.  After  Major 
Bacon  had  gone,  Lieutenant  Chamberlain  took  charge  of  me, 
and  I  shall  ever  be  grateful  for  the  unwearied  kindness  of  his 
attention.  There  was  nothing  I  desired,  that  was  procurable, 
that  he  did  not  get  for  me,  and  had  I  been  his  own  relative 
he  could  not  have  done  more  to  promote  my  comfort. 

IN  THE  HOSPITAL. 

As  I  got  worse  instead  of  better,  however,  it  was  concluded 
that  the  hospital  was  the  best  place  for  me,  and  to  the  Empire 
Hospital  I  accordingly  was  sent,  by  order  of  the  chief 
surgeon  of  the  post.  I  was  first  admitted  into  Dr.  Ham 
mond's  ward,  and  subsequently  into  that  of  Dr.  Hay.  Dr. 
Hay,  who  was  a  whole-souled  little  fellow,  is  dead,  but  Dr. 
Hammond  is  still  living,  and  I  am  glad  of  such  an  oppor 
tunity  as  this  of  testifying  to  his  noble  qualities.  During  the 
entire  period  I  was  under  his  care  in  the  hospital,  he  treated 
me,  as  he  did  all  his  patients,  with  the  greatest  kindness. 

0,  but  these  were  sad  and  weary  days  that  I  spent  in  the 
hospital !  I  cannot  tell  how  I  longed,  once  more,  to  be  out  in 
the  open  air  and  the  sunshine,  and  participating  in  the  grand 
scenes  that  were  being  enacted  not  many  miles  away.  My 
restless  disposition  made  sickness  especially  irksome  to  me, 
and  I  felt  sometimes  as  if  I  could  scarcely  help  leaving  my  bed, 
and  going  as  I  was  to  the  front,  for  the  purpose  of  plunging 
into  the  thickest  of  the  fight ;  while  at  other  moments,  when 
the  fever  was  strong  upon  me,  I  almost  wished  that  I  might 
die,  rather  than  to  be  compelled  to  toss  about  thus  on  a  couch 
of  pain. 

There  was  one  consolation,  however,  in  all  my  sufferings, 
which  sustained  me,  and  made  me  measurably  patient  and  con 
tented  to  endure  the  irksomeness  of  the  restraint  which  my 
illness  placed  upon  me,  —  I  was  near  the  man  I  loved,  and 


316  CONSOLATION. 

hoped  soon  to  ha.ve  an  opportunity  to  see  and  to  converse  with 
him.  I  learned  soon  after  my  admission  to  the  hospital  that 
Captain  De  Caulp  was  in  Dr.  Benton's  ward,  adjoining  that 
under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Hay ;  and  to  be  under  the  same  roof 
with  him,  and  the  probability  that  ere  long  I  would  be  able  to 
see  him  again,  helped  me  to  bear  up  under  the  suffering  I  was 
called  upon  to  endure.  I  resolved  that  if  Captain  De  Caulp 
was  willing,  our  marriage  should  take  place  so  soon  as  we 
were  able  to  leave  the  hospital ;  and  I  busied  myself  in  won 
dering  what  he  would  say  when  he  discovered  what  strange 
pranks  I  had  been  playing  since  we  had  been  corresponding 
as  lovers.  I  almost  dreaded  to  reveal  to  him  that  the  little 
dandified  lieutenant,  who  had  volunteered  to  fight  in  his  com 
pany  at  Shiloh,  and  the  woman  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  an 
engagement  of  marriage,  were  the  same  ;  but  I  felt  that  the 
time  for  the  disclosure  to  be  made  had  arrived,  and  was  deter 
mined  to  make  it  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

A  STRANGE  STORY  OF  TRUE  LOVE. 

Sick-bed  Fancies.  —  Reflections  on  my  military  Career.  —  I  almost  re 
solve  to  abandon  the  Garb  of  a  Soldier.  —  Difficulties  in  'the  Way  of 
achieving  Greatness.  —  Warfare  as  a  laborious  Business.  —  The  Favors 
of  Fortune  sparingly  bestowed.  —  Prospective  Meeting  with  my  Lover. 
—  Anxiety  to  know  what  he  would  think  of  the  Course  I  had  been  pur 
suing  in  figuring  in  the  Army  as  a  Man.  —  A  strange  Courtship.  —  More 
like  a  Chapter  of  Romance  than  a  grave  Reality.  —  My  Recollections 
of  an  old  Spanish  Story,  read  in  my  Childhood,  that  in  some  respects 
reminds  me  of  my  own  Experiences.  —  The  Story  of  Estela.  —  How 
the  Desires  of  a  Pair  of  Lovers  were  opposed  by  stern  Parents.  —  An 
Elopement  planned.  —  The  Abduction  of  Estela  through  the  Instru 
mentality  of  a  Rival.  —  She  is  carried  off  by  Moorish  Pirates,  and  sold 
as  a  Slave.  —  Her  Escape  from  Slavery,  and  how  she  entered  the  Army 
of  the  Emperor  disguised  as  a  Man.  —  Estela  saves  the  Emperor's 
Life,  and  is  promoted  to  a  high  Office.  —  Her  Meeting  with  her  Lover, 
and  her  Endeavors  to  make  him  confess  his  Faith  in  her  Honor.  —  The 
Appointment  of  Estela  as  Governor  of  her  native  City.  —  The  Trial  of 
her  Lover  on  the  Charge  of  having  murdered  her.  —  Happy  Ending  of 
the  Story.  —  I  am  inspired,  by  my  Recollections  of  the  Story  of  Estela, 
to  hear  from  the  Lips  of  my  Lover  his  Opinion  of  me  before  I  reveal 
myself  to  him.  —  Impatient  Waiting  for  the  Hour  of  Meeting. 


HILE  tossing  upon  my  sick-bed  in  the 
hospital,  I  was  compelled,  for  very  lack 
of  other  occupation,  to  think  of  many 
things  that,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
busied  as  I  habitually  was  with  innumera 
ble  ambitious  schemes,  would  never  have  pressed 
themselves  upon  my  mind  with  the  force  they  now 
did.  This  was  a  strange  life  I  had  been  leading 
now  for  more  than  two  years,  and  yet  it  was  the 
kind  of  a  life  that,  from  my  earliest  childhood,  I  had 
ardently  longed  to  lead.  I  had  some  understanding 
now  of  what  the  great  discoverers,  adventurers,  and  soldiers, 
who  were  the  idols  of  my  childish  imagination,  had  been  com 
pelled  to  go  through  with  before  they  won  the  undying  fame 

317 


318  SICK   FANCIES. 

that  was  theirs,  and  I  comprehended,  to  some  degree,  how 
hard  a  thing  it  was  to  win  fame. 

For  myself,  I  had  played  my  part  in  the  great  drama  of  war 
with  what  skill  I  could  command ;  and,  although  I  had  not 
played  it  altogether  unsuccessfully,  the  chances  that  fame 
and  the  applause  of  future  ages  would  be  mine,  seemed  as 
remote  as  ever.  Warfare,  despite  all  that  was  terrible  and 
horrible  about  it,  was,  to  the  majority  of  those  who  partici 
pated  in  it,  a  most  commonplace,  practical,  and  far  from  ex 
citing  business,  in  which  the  chances  for  eminent  distinction 
seldom  appeared,  and  in  which  Fortune  showered  her  favors 
only  on  a  chosen  few.  And  yet  there  was  an  almost  irresisti 
ble  fascination  in  being  an  active  participant  in  the  great 
events  upon  which  the  destinies  of  a  continent  were  hanging, 
and  the  possibility  that,  at  any  moment  almost,  something 
might  occur  by  which  the  humblest  among  the  host  of  com 
batants  would  be  immortalized,  gave  a  zest  to  the  hard  work, 
and  an  inspiration  to  exertion. 

Had  I  continued  in  health,  the  probabilities  are  that  the 
idea  of  abandoning  the  cause  I  had  chosen  before  the  close 
of  the  war,  would  never  have  been  permitted  to  take  lodg 
ment  in  my  brain,  and  I  would  have  gone  on  from  one  adven 
ture  to  another,  in  spite  of  every  discouragement  and  disap 
pointment,  hoping  always  that  I  would  be  able  to  achieve 
something  great.  Now,  however,  lying  upon  my  sick-bed,  I 
could  not  but  confess  to  myself  that  I  was  disappointed,  and 
that  I  was  following  a  will-o'-the-wisp  in  striving  to  gain  for 
myself  a  great  name  by  heroic  deeds.  Although  I  had  no 
regrets  for  the  course  I  had  pursued,  and  as  I  reviewed  in  my 
mind  the  momentous  events  in  which  I  had  been  an  active 
participant  during  the  two  years  I  had  been  wearing  a  Con 
federate  officer's  uniform,  nry  heart  beat  proudly  at  the  recol 
lection  of  them,  I  nevertheless  almost  concluded  that  I  had 
had  enough  of  this,  and  that  it  was  time  for  me  to  exchange 
my  uniform  for  the  attire  of  my  own  sex  once  more,  and 
in  good  earnest,  with  the  intention  of  never  resuming  it 
again. 

THOUGHTS  OF  LOVE. 

These  were  sick  fancies,  and  I  felt  ashamed  of  myself  at 
times  for  my  weakening  in  the  resolution  I  had  formed  to  see 
the  thing  through  at  all  hazards,  in  some  shape,  and,  if  there" 
was  a  possibility  of  doing  it,  of  making  for  myself  a  great 


A   ROMANCE   OF   REAL   LIFE.  319 

name  as  a  soldier.  But  there  were  other  influences  at  work 
to  make  me  doubtful  of  the  propriety  of  my  longer  continuing 
'the  hazardous  experiment  of  passing  myself  off  as  a  man.  In 
an  adjoining  ward  of  the  hospital  was  my  lover,  to  a  speedy 
meeting  with  whom  I  was  looking  forward  with  many  fond 
anticipations.  How  would  he  regard  my  conduct?  And 
should  he,  as  I  hoped  he  would,  be  proud  of  my  efforts  to 
advance  the  Confederate  cause  by  doing  a  soldier's  duty, 
would  he  be  willing  that  I  should  longer  continue  to  wear 
my  uniform,  especially  if  we  should  conclude  to  have  our 
marriage  solemnized  at  an  early  day  ?  These  were  questions 
that  pressed  themselves  upon  me,  and  that,  even  more  than 
the  dispiriting  influences  of  a  sick-room,  made  me  half 
repent  that  I  had  ever  assumed  male  attire,  and  made  me 
more  than  half  resolve  to  permanently  abandon  it  so  soon  as  I 
was  out  of  the  hospital. 

I  was  curious,  however,  rather  than  apprehensive,  with  re 
gard  to  the  effect  of  the  disclosures  I  would  have  to  make 
when  I  met  Captain  De  Caulp.  There  was  nothing  that  I  had 
done  that  I  need  blush  for,  while  he  had  himself  been  the  wit 
ness,  on  one  momentous  occasion,  of  my  prowess  as  a  warrior, 
and  I  longed  to  hear  him  repeat  to  me,  as  a  woman,  the  praise 
he  had  so  freely  bestowed  upon  me  as  a  man  when  we  fought 
side  by  side  at  Shiloh. 

What  a  strange  courtship  ours  had  been  !  The  only  time 
we  had  met  since  our  engagement  was  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  carnage,  and  here  we  both  were 
now,  sick  in  adjoining  wards  of  the  same  hospital ;  I,  longing 
to  be  with  him,  but  unable  to  go  to  his  side ;  and  he,  all  un 
conscious  that  the  woman  he.  loved  was  so  near;  sighing, 
doubtless,  for  the  time  to  come  when  our  futures  would  be 
united,  but  never  dreaming  that  the  future  he  sighed  for  was 
so  near  at  hand.  It  was  like  a  romance,  and  it  was  in  the 
scenes  of  a  romance,  the  memories  of  which  floated  through 
my  mind  as  I  thought  over  the  situation,  that  I  alone  could 
find  any  similitude  to  it. 

I  recollected,  as  I  reviewed  the  circumstances  of  my  own 
case,  an  old  Spanish  novela,  which  I  had  read  when  a  girl, 
and  which  had  long  since  passed  out  of  mind  with  other 
childish  memories,  but  the  incidents  of  which  now  came  back 
to  me  with  singular  vividness,  on  account  of  a  certain  resem 
blance  they  had  to  points  in  my  own  career.  The  author's 
name  I  forgot,  but  I  distinctly  remembered  the  story,  which 


320  A    LOVE   STORY. 

was  one  of  a  collection  in  an  old  book  I  was  fond  of  perusing 
when  at  home  under  my  father's  roof  at  the  Puerto  de  Palmas 
plantation  in  Cuba. 

THE  STORY  OF  ESTELA. 

The  name  of  the  heroine  of  this  tale  was  Estela,  and  she 
was  beloved  by  a  handsome,  rich,  and  gallant  young  man, — 
all  the  heroes  in  these  old  Spanish  novels  are  young,  hand 
some,  rich,  and  of  high  birth,  and  all  the  heroines  are  mar 
vels  of  beauty, —  and  for  a  long  time  the  course  of  true  love 
ran  smoothly  enough.  At  length;  however,  a  young  grandee, 
of  enormous  wealth,  also  became  enamoured  of  Estela;  and 
although  he  failed  to  win  the  affection  of  the  lady,  he  suc 
ceeded,  without  any  difficulty,  in  becoming  the  choice  of  her 
parents ;  not  that  they  had  any  objections  to  Don  Carlos,  — 
which  I  believe  was  the  name  of  Estela's  lover,  —  but  that 
his  rival  promised  to  be  a  more  splendid  match  for  their 
daughter.  Don  Carlos  was,  therefore,  forbidden  to  hold  any 
correspondence  with  the  object  of  his  adoration,  but,  as  Es 
tela  continued  true  to  him  in  spite  of  her  parents'  opposi 
tion,  they  were  accustomed  -to  meet  surreptitiously,  through 
the  agency  of  the  lady's  waiting-maid  and  the  gentleman's 
page,  who  arranged  secret  interviews  for  them. 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  while  the  pair  were  thus  carrying 
on  their  secret  courtship,  the  page  of  Don  Carlos  took  sick 
and  died.  It  was  not  many  days,  however,  before  a  hand 
some  youth  applied  to  be  taken  into  his  service,  who  proved 
himself  so  zealous  and  faithful  that  he  was  soon  intrusted 
with  all  his  master's  secrets.  This  youth,  however,  was  a 
woman,  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  Don  Carlos,  and  who, 
unable  to  attract  his  attention  in  any  other  way,  had  resorted 
to  this  means  of  bringing  herself  to  his  notice,  and  of  being 
near  him,  in  the  hope  that  something  would  occur  to  enable 
her  to  win  his  love. 

The  heroines  of  these  old  Spanish  romances  seem  to  have 
had  a  decided  fancy  for  masquerading  in  male  attire,  and  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  this  propensity  on  their  part  had  some  effect 
in  encouraging  in  me  a  desire  to  assume  the  dress  of  the  other 
sex  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  adventures.  I  can  call  to 
mind  many  more  stories  than  the  one  I  am  endeavoring  to 
give  a  brief  outline  of,  in  which  the  women  attempt,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  different  ends,  to  figure  as  men,  and  it  is 


HAT}TANOOGA 


RESACA 


ADAIRSVILL     I 


ALHOUN} 

'    / 


xCASSVILLE 

OASS  STATION 

CARTERS  VI LLE 


l/nU-ACKWORTH 


SCALE      OF     MILES 


ur'orS 


VTLANTA 


ROUGH  •»  READY 


DALTON      TO     ATLANTA.. 


THE   DISAPPEARANCE   OF   ESTELA.  321 

scarcely  possible  that  I  was  uninfluenced  by  a  perusal  of  the 
narratives  of  their  exploits. 

The  new  page,  as  I  have  stated,  easily  gained  the  entire 
confidence  of  Don  Carlos,  and  was  employed  as  the  messen 
ger  between  him  and  his  lady-love.  She,  however,  soon 
found  that  he  was  so  much  absorbed  in  Estela,  that  it  was 
useless  to  hope  to  win  him,  unless  her  rival  could  be  removed ; 
and  she  accordingly  set  about  devising  a  plan  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  this  end.  An  opportunity  soon  offered ;  for  the 
parents  of  Estela,  despite  her  unwillingness,  were  determined 
that  she  should  accept  the  hand  of  the  lover  of  their  choice, 
and  made  their  arrangements  for  a  speedy  wedding.  Estela, 
of  course,  informed  Don  Carlos  of  this,  and  he,  seeing  that  his 
bride  would  be  lost  to  him  unless  he  acted  with  decision,  per 
suaded  her  to  consent  to  an  elopement  with  him  to  another 
city,  where  their  marriage  could  take  place. 

The  fictitious  page  was,  of  course,  informed  of  all  that  was 
proposed  by  the  lovers,  and  felt  that  the  time  had  now  come 
for  her  to  interfere.  Don  Carlos  and  Estela,  having  arranged 
for  the  elopement  to  take  place  on  a  certain  night,  the  lady 
wrote  a  letter  to  her  parents,  stating  that,  unable  to  endure 
the  idea  of  marrying,  at  their  dictation,  a  man  whom  she  did 
not  love,  she  had  ventured  to  incur  their  displeasure  by  unit 
ing  herself  with  Don  Carlos,  for  whom,  as  they  well  knew,  she 
had  long  borne  a  tender  regard. 

The  page,  to  whom  had  been  intrusted  the  task  of  con 
ducting  the  lady  to  a  rendezvous,  where  her  lover  would  be 
waiting  with  horses  to  bear  them  away  beyond  the  reach  of 
pursuit  until  the  marriage  should  take  place,  basely  betrayed 
the  trust  confided  to  her,  however,  and,  instead  of  delivering 
Estela  to  her  lover,  took  her  to  where  some  Moorish  pirates 
were  in  waiting,  by  whom  she  was  seized,  and  carried  off  to 
Algiers,  to  be  sold  as  a  slave.  The  pirates,  as  a  precaution 
against  treachery,  insisted  upon  the  page  going  with  them ; 
and  thus  Estela  became  informed  that  her  betrayer  was  a 
woman,  and  also  learned  the  reason  for  her  conduct. 

On  the  disappearance  of  Estela  being  discovered,  the  only 
clew  to  the  mystery  was  the  letter  she  had  written,  announcing 
her  intention  of  eloping  with  Don  Carlos ;  and  that  gentleman^ 
who  had  been  waiting  anxiously  and  impatiently  for  her,  and 
who  was  lost  in  wonder  at  her  non-appearance  at  the  ren^ 
dezvous,  was  accused  of  having  spirited  her  away,  and  per^ 
haps  of  having  murdered  her.  He  was  not  only  overwhelmed 
21 


322  STRANGE   MEETING   OF  THE  LOVERS. 

with  anguish  at  such  a  charge  being  brought  against  him,  but 
was  sorely  perplexed  to  know  what  had  become  of  the  lady ; 
and,  as  day  after  day  passed  by,  and  no  tidings  of  her  were 
received,  he  at  length  forced  himself  to  believe  that  she  had 
proved  false  to  him,  had  accepted  the  page  for  a  lover,  and 
had  fled  with  him.  In  the  mean  time  the  indignation  against 
him  increased,  and  the  suspicions  that  he  was  the  murderer 
of  his  mistress  grew  into  certainty  in  many  minds.  His  trial, 
on  the  charge  of  murder,  was  therefore  ordered ;  but,  deter 
mined  not  to  be  made  the  victim  of  a  false  woman's  treachery 
if  he  could  avoid  it,  he  made  his  escape  from  prison,  and, 
flying  to  Italy,  entered  the  army  of  the  emperor,  Charles  V., 
as  a  common  soldier. 

In  the  mean  while,  Estela,  after  passing  through  many 
strange  adventures  in  the  land  of  the  Moors,  at  length  suc 
ceeded  in  making  her  escape,  in  male  attire,  and  she,  too, 
joined  the  army  of  the  emperor,  which  was  then  besieging 
some  Moorish  town.  In  a  skirmish  which  occurred  soon  after, 
she  had  the  good  fortune  to  save  the  life  of  the  emperor,  who, 
finding  that  she  was  a  person  of  education  and  talents,  ap 
pointed  her — little  suspecting  her  to  be  a  woman  —  to  an 
important  position  near  his  own  person.  Estela  soon  became 
the  emperor's  favorite  officer,  and  he  delighted  in  heaping 
honors  upon  her,  she,  all  the  while,  longing  only  for  an  oppor 
tunity  to  return  to  her  own  country,  for  the  purpose  of 
seeking  her  lover. 

One  day,  however,  she  was  amazed  to  behold  a  soldier  in 
the  ranks  who  reminded  her  greatly  of  Don  Carlos,  and,  on 
engaging  in  conversation,  found  that  it  was  indeed  he.  She, 
therefore,  took  him  to  her  tent,  and,  by  degrees,  succeeded  in 
inducing  him  to  tell  his  story.  That  he  should  have  suffered 
so  much  on  her  account,  grieved  her  exceedingly ;  but  her 
womanly  pride  was  touched  that  he  should  suspect  her  honor, 
and  she  resolved  to  try  and  induce  him  to  have  a  better  opin 
ion  of  her  than  he  professed,  before  revealing  herself.  Ap 
pointing  Don  Carlos  to  the  post  of  secretary,  she  engaged 
him,  almost  daily,  in  conversation  about  his  lost  love,  and 
endeavored,  by  various  means,  to  persuade  him  that  Estela 
might  be  guiltless. 

The  melancholy  of  Don  Carlos,  however,  increased  the 
more  the  matter  was  talked  about.  He  could  not  help  con 
fessing  that  he  still  loved  Estela  tenderly,  despite  her  unwor- 
thiness,  but  it  was  impossible  to  induce  him  to  think  that  she 


THE   DAY   OF   TRIAL.  323 

was  not  unworthy.  That  he  still  loved  her,  was  some  conso 
lation  to  Estela,  but  it  piqued  her  that  he  should  be  unwilling 
to  admit  that  there  might  be  some  explanation  of  her  strange 
disappearance  that  would  relieve  her  of  blame.  While  de 
vising  in  her  mind  some  plan  for  bringing  Don  Carlos  to 
reason,  she  learned  that  the  governor  of  her  native  city  had 
suddenly  died.  This  suggested  a  means  of  accomplishing 
her  purpose,  and  she  accordingly  applied  to  the  emperor  for 
the  vacant  office.  Her  request  was  granted,  and  she  set  off 
immediately  to  take  possession  of  the  governorship,  Don 
Carlos  going  with  her,  feeling  sure  that,  as  one  of  the  new 
governor's  household,  he  would  be  free  from  molestation  on 
account  of  the  old  charge  against  him,  or,  at  least,  that  he 
would  be  able  to  receive  a  fair  and  impartial  trial. 

So  soon  as  the  new  governor  was  installed,  and  it  was  found 
that  Don  Carlos  was  in  his  suite,  the  parents  of  Estela,  and 
other  prominent  citizens,  stated  what  the  accusations  against 
him  were,  and  demanded  that  he  be  brought  to  trial,  and 
punished  according  to  law.  The  governor  promised  that 
strict  justice  should  be  done,  and  appointed  a  day  for  the  trial 
to  take  place,  refusing,  however,  to  permit  Don  Carlos  to  be 
sent  to  prison,  and  promising  to  be  responsible  for  him. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  trial  the  conferences  between  the 
governor  and  the  secretary  were  frequent,  and  Estela  re 
doubled  her  efforts  to  make  her  lover  acknowledge,  not  only 
that  he  loved,  but  that  he  still  had  infinite  faith  in  his  lady. 

This,  as  I  recollect  it,  was  the  most  intensely  interesting 
and  exciting  part  of  the  story,  and  it  made  a  strong  impres 
sion  on  my  imagination.  I  thought  the  lady  cruel  in  unneces 
sarily  prolonging  the  misery  of  her  lover,  and  at  the  same 
time,  although  I  was  but  a  child  when  I  read  the  story,  I 
could  not  but  appreciate  the  feelings  which  induced  her  to 
desire  that  Don  Carlos  should  confess  that  he  had  banished  all 
unworthy  suspicion  of  her  from  his  mind  before  she  cleared 
up  the  mystery  of  her  disappearance. 

At  length  the  confession  was  forced  from  the  unhappy 
man,  that,  as  Estela  had  never  given  him  reason  to  think,  by 
any  levity  of  conduct,  that  she  was  capable  of  loving  another 
than  himself,  much  less  that  she  was  capable  of  basely  for 
saking  him  for  one  less  worthy,  he  still,  in  his  inmost  soul, 
had  faith  in  her  honor,  and  that  the  dream  of  his  life  was, 
that  he  might  be  able  to  be  reunited  to  her. 

The  day  of  trial  came,  and  Estela,  as  the  chief  magistrate 


324  HAPPY   ENDING   OP   THE   STORY. 

of  the  city,  sat  upon  the  bench,  with  the  other  judges,  to  hear 
the  case.  The  various  witnesses  who  appeared  related  the 
story  of  Estela's  disappearance ;  her  letter,  announcing  her 
proposed  flight  with  Don  Carlos,  was  produced  ;  the  servants 
who  had  been  cognizant  of  the  clandestine  meetings  of  the 
lovers  related  in  detail  all  they  knew  about  the  frequent  inter 
views  Don  Carlos  had  had  with  Estela,  without  the  knowledge 
of  her  parents ;  to  all  of  which  the  accused  could  oppose 
nothing  but  a  simple  denial  of  his  guilt. 

The  disguised  Estela,  in  her  character  of  governor,  said, 
with  a  frown,  and  with  pretended  severity,  that,  had  she 
known  there  was  such  a  weight  of  evidence  against  Don  Car 
los,  she  could  never  have  given  him  her  protection,  or  have 
continued  him  in  his  office  of  secretary.  The  only  way  in 
which  his  innocence  could  be  proved,  in  the  face  of  such  tes 
timony,  was  by  the  appearance  of  Estela,  but  that,  if  she 
could  not  be  produced,  it  would  be  necessary  to  pronounce 
condemnation. 

The  miserable  man  now  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the 
governor,  and  besought  him  to  remember  how,  long  before 
either  of  them  had  any  reason  to  believe  they  would  be  called 
upon  to  appear  before  each  other  in  the  character  of  accused 
and  judge,  he  had  told  his  whole  story,  and  had  confessed  his 
love  for  Estela,  despite  the  reason  he  had  for  believing  that 
she  had  acted  basely  to  him,  and  how,  but  a  brief  time  be 
fore,  he  had  not  only  acknowledged  his  unaltered  affection, 
but  his  faith  in  Estela's  honor,  and  besought  that  true  justice 
might  be  done,  despite  what  seemed  to  be  an  accumulation 
of  evidence  against  him. 

Estela,  moved  by  these  entreaties,  and  overcome  by  the 
confession  of  enduring  love  and  of  faith  in  her  honor,  made 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  assembly,  was  unable  longer  to 
restrain  herself,  and  she  therefore  proclaimed  that,  notwith 
standing  the  evidence,  as  she  knew  Don  Carlos  to  be  innocent, 
she  would  order  his  release.  This  excited  a  loud  murmur  of 
discontent;  whereupon  the  governor,  commanding  silence, 
revealed  herself  to  the  marvelling  crowd  as  the  lost  Estela, 
and,  throwing  herself  in  the  arms  of  Don  Carlos,  asked  his 
pardon  for  the  severe  tests  she  had  put  him  to  for  the  purpose 
of  proving  that  his  affection  for  her  was  the  same  as  ever. 

The  lovers  were  married  without  delay,  and,  as  the  hero 
and  heroine  of  a  novel  ought  to  be,  they  were  happy  ever 
afterwards,  the  emperor  giving  to  Don  Carlos  the  governor- 


WEARY   WAITING.  325 

ship  of  the  city  in  place  of  Estela,  —  who  preferred  to  relin 
quish  masculine  duties  with  masculine  attire,  —  and  otherwise 
making  the  reunited  pair  the  recipients  of  favors  which  testi 
fied,  in  a  practical  manner,  his  esteem  for  them. 

This  is  but  a  feeble  and  incomplete  recital  of  a  very  pretty 
story,  and  is  only  entitled  to  a  place  in  this  narrative  of  iny 
own  adventures,  because  it  was  so  much  in  my  thoughts  at 
the  particular  period  of  which  I  am  now  writing,  and  because 
it  inspired  me  to  imitate  Estela's  example  so  far  as  to  seek  to 
obtain  a  confession  of  love  from  Captain  De  Canlp,  before  I 
should  reveal  myself  to  him.  I  was  filled  with  an  eager  de 
sire  to  hear  what  he  would  say  of  me  to  his  friend,  the  sup 
posed  Lieutenant  Buford,  and  having  arranged  in  my  mind 
what  I  should  say  to  him  when  we  met,  I  waited,  with  ill- 
disguised  impatience,  for  the  time  to  come  when  I  could  put 
my  plan  in  execution,  trying  to  imagine,  all  the  while,  what 
would  be  the  effect  upon  him  when  the  whole  truth  was  made 
known. 

It  was  a  weary  while  waiting,  though,  for  the  hour  of 
meeting  to  come,  and,  had  my  physicians  permitted  it,  I 
would  have  left  my  sick-bed  to  go  to  Captain  De  Caulp  long 
before  I  was  really  able  to  be  on  my  feet.  Dr.  Hammond, 
however,  knew  better  what  was  good  for  me  than  I  knew 
myself,  and  he  constrained  me  to  remain  under  his  care  until 
he  should  be  able  to  pronounce  me  able  to  care  for  myself 
once  more ;  and,  as  there  was  no  use  in  resisting  his  orders, 
I  obeyed  them  perforce,  with  what  patience  I  could  command. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
AGAIN   A  WIFE   AND    AGAIN  A  WIDOW. 

Convalescence.  —  I  pay  a  Visit  to  my  Lover.  —  A  friendly  Feeling.  —  A 
Surprise  in  Store  for  him.  —  I  ask  him  about  his  matrimonial  Prospects, 
and  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  State  of  his  Affections  Cowards  me.  —  An 
affecting  Scene.  —  The  Captain  receives  a  Letter  from  his  Lady-love.  — 
"  She  has  come  !  She  has  come  !  "  —  The  Captain  prepares  for  a 
Meeting  with  his  Sweetheart.  —  A  Question  of  Likeness.  —  A  puzzling 
Situation. —  I  reveal  my  Identity.  —  Astonishment  and  Joy  of  my  Lover. 

—  Preparations  for  our  Wedding.  —  A  very  quiet  Affair  proposed.  — 
The  Wedding.  —  A  short  Honeymoon.  —  Departure  of  my  Husband  for 
the  Front.  —  My  Apprehensions  for  his  Health.  —  My  Apprehensions 
justified  in  the  News  of  his  Death  in  a  Federal  Hospital  in  Chattanooga. 

—  Once  more  a  Widow. 

FTER  a  weary  waiting,  which  I  thought  would 
never  end,  both  Captain  De  Caulp  and  myself 
were  convalescent.  At  the  earliest  moment 
that  I  could  obtain  permission  to  leave  my 
ward  I  went  to  see  him,  being  naturally  more 
impatient  for  a  meeting  than  he  was  ;  for,  although  we 
had  exchanged  greetings  through  our  physicians,  it  was 
simply  as  friends  and  officers  of  the  Confederate  army, 
and  not  as  lovers,  and  he  had  no  suspicion  whatever 
that  his  sick  neighbor  of  the  hospital  was  other  than  the  young 
lieutenant  whose  acquaintance  he  had  formed  at  Pensacola, 
and  who  had  fought  beside  him  at  Shiloh. 

He  was  extremely  glad  to  see  me,  however,  much  more  so 
than  I  expected  he  would  be ;  but  the  fact  was,  it  had  been  so 
long  since  he  had  had  a  chance  to  chat  with  any  of  his  old 
friends,  that  it  was  a  genuine  pleasure  to  him  to  have  any  one 
call  on  him  for  the  sake  of  a  lively  talk  over  old  times.  I 
found  him  sadly  reduced  and  worn  by  the  severe  illness 
through  which  he  had  just  passed  ;  but,  although  he  was  weak, 
he  was  evidently  improving,  and  in  a  fair  way  for  a  rapid 
recovery. 

326 


A  MEETING   OF  LOVERS.  327 

When  I  came  in  and  stood  by  his  bedside,  he  smiled,  and 
held  out  his  hand,  and  said,  "  I  am  mighty  glad  to  see  you 
again,  lieutenant.  It  is  like  meeting  a  brother." 

A  DELICATE  SUBJECT. 

I  said  that  I  was  rejoiced  to  meet  him  'again,  and  would 
have  called  on  him  much  sooner  had  the  doctors  permitted  it. 
I  then  asked  him  how  he  was  coming  on,  about  the  nature  of 
his  sickness,  and  matters  of  that  kind,  and  gradually  drifted 
into  a  conversation  about  things  in  general, —  the  progress  of 
the  war,  the  people  we  knew,  matters  at  home,  —  and  so  led 
him  up  to  the  subject  about  which  I  particularly  desired  to 
speak  with  him.  After  some  little  preliminary  talk,  which 
would  enable  me  to  bring  the  question  in  naturally,  without 
exciting  suspicion  that  I  had  any  but  a  merely  friendly  interest 
in  the  matter,  I  said,  "Captain,  are  you  married  yet?  You 
know  you  told  me  some  time  ago  you  were  engaged,  and  were 
expecting  very  shortly  to  ask  the  lady  to  name  the  day." 

"  No,"  said  he,  "  the  wedding  has  not  come  off  yet,  but  I 
hope  it  will  very  shortly.  I  should  have  gone  home  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  married  if  I  had  kept  my  health,  but  this 
spell  of  sickness  has  knocked  all  my  plans  in  the  head." 

"  Does  the  lady  know  that  you  are  sick?"  I  asked.  "  Have 
you  heard  from  her  recently  ?  " 

"  I  doubt  whether  she  does,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  been 
expecting  to  hear  from  her  for  some  time,  and  have  been 
greatly  disappointed  that  I  have  not.  The  last  letter  I  had 
stated  that  she  would  meet  me  here ;  but  for  several  months  I 
have  been  unable  to  communicate  with  her,  and  am  unable  to 
even  guess  where  she  is,  or  why  she  has  not  come  to  me." 

He  then  raised  up,  and  took  the  letter  he  referred  to  out  of 
a  package,  evidently  made  up  of  my  epistles,  and  read  it  to 
me.  He  also  showed  me  a  picture  of  myself,  which  he  pro 
duced  from  some  hiding-place  in  his  pocket,  and  handed  it  to 
me,  saying,  "  That  is  the  woman  I  love  ;  what  do  you  think 
of  her  ?  " 

A  PORTRAIT  AND  ITS  ORIGINAL. 

This  was  almost  too  much  for  me ;  and  all  trembling  with 
emotion,  I  handed  it  back  to  him,  saying,  "  She  is  a  fine- 
looking  woman  ; "  and  wondering  he  did  not  observe  the 
resemblance  between  the  portrait  and  the  original  before  him. 


328  A  MEETING   OF  LOVERS. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  and  she  is  just  as  good  as  she  is  good- 
looking.  I  think  the  world  of  her,  and  want  to  see  her  again 
—  0,  so  bad  !  " 

"Have  you  known  her  long,  captain?"  I  asked,  with  a 
trembling  voice,  and  scarcely  daring  to  trust  myself  to  speak, 
for  these  words,  and  the  tender  tone  in  which  they  were 
spoken,  made  my  heart  leap  with  joy,  and  brought  tears  to 
my  eyes.  I  was  afraid  that  he  would  notice  my  agitation,  and 
in  some  way  surmise  the  cause  of  it ;  and  I  did  not  want  him 
to  do  this,  for  I  was  not  yet  ready  to  reveal  myself,  but 
desired  further  to  hear  what  he  would  say  about  me  before  I 
told  him  my  secret.  So  I  turned  away,  and  pretended  to  be 
attracted  by  some  object  in  another  part  of  the  room  while 
I  wiped  the  tears  from  my  eyes,  and  attempted  to  recover  my 
composure  before  1  confronted  him  again. 

"  Yes,"  he  went  on,  "  I  have  known  her  for  a  long  time. 
She  is  a  widow,  and  her  husband  was  an  excellent  friend  of 
mine."  Then,  apparently  suddenly  recollecting  the  circum 
stances  under  which  he  first  made  my  acquaintance  in  the 
character  of  a  Confederate  officer,  he  said,  glancing  quickly 
and  eagerly  at  me,  "  Why,  you  ought  to  know  her ;  her  hus 
band  was  the  first  captain  of  our  company  ;  you  recollect  him, 
surely." 

"  O,"  said  I,  as  if  rather  surprised  at  this  revelation,  "  she  is 
his  widow,  is  she  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Captain  De  Caulp  j  "  you  have  met  her,  have 
you  not  ?  " 

I  could  scarcely  help  smiling  at  the  turn  this  conversation 
was  taking ;  and  still  wondering  whether  my  lover  would  be 
shreAvd  enough  to  detect  the  likeness  between  the  picture  he 
was  holding  in  his  hand,  and  fondly  gazing  at,  and  the 
original  of  it  who  was  sitting  by  his  bedside,  I  said,  "  Yes,  I 
have  had  a  slight  acquaintance  with  her,  but  you,  probably, 
have  known  her  longer  than  I  have.  When  did  you  see  her 
last?" 

"  I  have  not  seen  her  for  three  years,"  he  replied. 

"  Have  you  been  engaged  to  her  that  long?" 

"  0,  no  ;  I  did  not  become  engaged  to  her  until  about  six 
months  after  the  death  of  her  husband.  He  was  killed,  as  you 
know,  at  Pensacola,  just  after  the  war  commenced,  by  the 
bursting  of  a  carbine." 

"  Well,  if  you  have  not  seen  her  all  that  time,  how  have 
you  managed  to  do  your  courting  ?  " 


LOVE'S  CONFESSIONS.  329 

"  0,  that  was  easy  enough.  After  her  husband's  death,  we 
had  some  correspondence  about  the  settlement'  of  his  affairs, 
and  we  kept  on  writing  to  each  other  after  these  were 
arranged.  I  always  had  a  great  liking  for  her,  as  I  thought 
that  she  was  a  first-rate  woman,  of  the  kind  that  you  don't 
meet  every  day  ;  and,  consequently,  after  about  six  months,  I 
asked  her  to  marry  me.  She  was  a  sound,  sensible,  patriotic 
woman,  who  admired  me  for  going  to  the  front  more  than  she 
would  have  done  had  I  remained  at  home  to  court  her,  and 
she  accepted  me  without  hesitation." 

THE  PLEASURES  OF  COURTSHIP. 

"  I  understand  the  situation  now,  and  I  hope  you  have 
secured  a  prize.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  it  would  be 
pleasant  for  both  parties  if  you  could  do  a  little  courting  in 
person  before  you  get  married ;  and  if  I  were  you,  I  would 
try  and  go  to  her." 

"  1  intend  to  go  to  her  just  as  soon  as  I  have  health  and 
strength  to  travel,  for  I  feel  that  I  must  see  her." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  you  ought  to  go  for  your  own  sake  as  well 
as  for  that  of  the  lady.  You  have  done  enough  hard  fighting 
for  the  present,  and  you  are  entitled  to  take  a  rest." 

"  I  don't  intend  to  leave  the  army  permanently  unless  I  am 
•obliged  to ;  but,  as  you  say,  I  need  a  rest,  and  I  am  deter 
mined  that  I  will  go  home  and  get  married  if  it  costs  me  my 
commission.  I  am  now  improving  rapidly,  and  I  trust  that 
God  will  restore  me  to  perfect  health  soon." 

"  What  would  you  give,"  —  and  my  voice  was  so  choked 
with  emotion  that  I  could  scarcely  utter  these  words, — 
"  What  would  you  give  if  you  could  see  your  lady  now  ?  " 

"0,"  said  he, — and  his  eye  sparkled,  and  the  color  flushed 
into  his  cheeks  as  he  spoke, — "  I  would  almost  give  my  exist 
ence  in  heaven." 

I  could  not  bear  to  hear  any  more ;  but  dreading  lest  he 
should  notice  my  agitation,  and  inquire  the  cause  of  it,  I  made 
a  hasty  excuse  for  concluding  the  interview,  and  saying  good- 
by,  left  the  room  so  abruptly  that  he  must  have  seen  there 
was  something  the  matter  with  me. 

It  would  be  foolish  in  me,  in  attempting  to  tell  this  story  of 
the  culmination  of  my  strange  courtship,  to  make  a  secret 
of  the  emotions  that  filled  my  breast  at  the  results  of  this 
interview  with  Captain  De  Caulp.  I  felt  that  I  loved  him 


330  A  PAINFUL   SITUATION. 

more  than  ever,  and  that  he  was  more  than  worthy  of  me.  I 
wept  the  first  genuine  womanly  tears  I  had  shed  for  many  a 
day,  but  they  were  tears  of  joy,  —  of  joy  at  the  thought  that 
I  had  such  a  lover  as  this,  and  that  the  day  of  our  union  was 
certainly  not  far  distant. 

The  next  morning  I  wrote  him  a  note  in  my  proper  person, 
stating  that  I  had  arrived,  and  was  coming  to  see  him.  On 
the  receipt  of  this  he  was  nearly  wild  with  excitement,  and  it 
was  as  much  as  Dr.  Benton  could  do  to  keep  him  in  his  bed. 
Burning  with  anxiety  to  see  what  the  effect  upon  him  of  the 
letter  would  be,  I  followed  hard  after  the  bearer,  and  waiting 
until  he  would  have  a  fair  opportunity  to  master  its  contents, 
I  passed  by  the  door  in  such  a  manner  that  he  could  not  fail 
to  see  me.  So  soon  as  he  caught  sight  of  me,  he  called  out,  in 
an  exultant  tone,  "  Lieutenant,  come  in.  I  want  to  talk  to 
you; "  and  holding  out  the  note,  which  I  had  written  but  a  few 
moments  before,  towards  me,  he  said,  with  the  happiest  smile 
I  ever  saw  on  a  human  face,  "  She  has  come,  —  she  has  come, 
and  will  be  here  soon  ;  congratulate  me,  my  friend." 

AN  AGITATING   OCCASION. 

I  was  greatly  agitated,  not  only  at  the  sight  of  his  extreme 
happiness,  but  because  I  felt  that  the  dreaded  hour  was  now 
come  when  I  must  reveal  my  secret  to  him.  I  loved  him  most 
fondly ;  and  it  was  but  yesterday  that  I  had  heard  from  his 
own  lips  assurances  of  his  affection  for  me,  the  verity  of  which 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  doubt ;  and  yet  I  dreaded  whether 
his  feelings  towards  me  might  not  change  when  he  heard  my 
story.  I  felt  that  they  ought  not,  and  I  did  not  believe  that 
they  would ;  but  I  had  heard  so  many  men,  and  good  men  too, 
speak  harshly  with  regard  to  women  undertaking  to  play 
the  role  that  I  had,  that  my  very  love  gave  encouragement  to 
my  fears  lest  Captain  De  Caulp — when  he  learned  I  had  been 
in  the  army  ever  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  from 
before  the  date  of  our  engagement,  disguised  as  a  man  — 
would  regard  my  course  with  such  disapproval  that  he  would 
refuse  to  consider  the  motives  which  induced  me  to  adopt 
the  course  I  had  taken. 

The  situation  was,  for  me,  painful  beyond  expression ;  and 
although  I  felt  that  the  secret  must  now  be  told,  I  scarcely 
knew  how  to  tell  it,  or  how  to  begin  an  even  ordinary  friendly 
conversation  with  him.  The  disclosure  which  I  was  about  to 


A  MYSTERY.  331 

make  was,  moreover,  one  that  was  meant  for  no  other  ears 
than  his,  and  was  certainly  not  a  proper  one  for  the  public 
ward  of  the  hospital.  My  first  care,  therefore,  was  to  get  him 
to  a  place  where  we  could  converse  without  being  overheard, 
and  so  I  said,  "  Captain,  I  congratulate  you  heartily,  and  I 
hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  your  lady.  As  you 
expect  to  have  a  visit  from  her  soon,  and  as  you  will  doubt 
less  want  to  talk  over  a  great  number  of  confidential  matters, 
don't  you  think  that  it  would  be  better  if  the  doctor  were  to 
move  you  into  a  private  room  ?  " 

He  said,  "  Yes  ;  thank  you  for  the  suggestion  ;  that  is  just 
what  I  would  like.  I  wish  you  would  tell  the  doctor  I  want 
to  see  him." 

I  accordingly  conveyed  his  message  with  all  possible  de 
spatch,  and  the  doctor  very  cheerfully  granted  his  request,  and 
had  him  taken  to  a  private  chamber.  A  barber  was  then  sent 
for,  and  he  was  shaved,  and  made  to  look  as  nicely  as  possible  ; 
and  it  touched  me  deeply  to  notice  what  pains  he  took  to 
make  himself  presentable,  in  view  of  the  expected  arrival  of 
his  lady-love,  whom,  by  the  anxious  manner  in  which  he 
glanced  at  the  door,  he  was  evidently  looking  for  every 
minute,  and  almost  dreading  her  arrival  before  he  was  ready 
to  receive  her. 

A  REVELATION  TO  BE  MADE. 

So  soon  as  we  were  alone  together,  I  said  gravely,  "  Now, 
captain,  I  have  something  of  great  importance  to  say  to 
you  before  your  sweetheart  comes." 

He  looked  at  me  wonderingly,  evidently,  impressed  by  my 
manner,  and  apparently  half  fearing  that  something  had  oc 
curred  to  defeat  his  expectations. 

I  then  knelt  by  the  bedside,  and  taking  from  my  pocket  a 
picture  of  himself  that  he  had  sent  me,  and  his  last  letter, 
said,  "Did  you  ever  see  these  before?" 

He  glanced  at  them,  recognized  them,  and  turned  deadly 
pale.  His  hand  trembled  so  that  he  could  scarcely  hold  the 
picture  and  the  letter,  and  looking  at  me  with  a  scared  expres 
sion,  he  gasped,  "  Yes,  they  are  mine !  Where  did  you  get 
them  ?  Has  anything  happened  ? 

"  No,  no,  captain,"  I  exclaimed.  "  You  must  not  be 
frightened ;  nothing  has  happened  that  will  be  displeasing  to 
you." 


332  THE  MYSTERY  REVEALED. 

"  But  I  don't  understand,"  he  said ;  "  how  did  you  get 
these?" 

"  Ah  !  "  I  said,  "  that  is  my  secret  just  now.  You  know  you 
told  me  last  night,  when  you  showed  me  the  portrait  of  your 
lady,  that  you  had  not  seen  her  for  three  years;  are  you  so 
very  sure  of  that?" 

He  still  failed  to  comprehend  what  I  meant,  and  stared  at 
me  in  astonishment.  1,  therefore,  went  to  his  pocket,  and  got 
the  picture,  and,  placing  it  in  his  hand,  said,  "  Now  take  a  good 
look  at  that,  and  tell  me  if  you  have  not  seen  somebody  very 
much  like  it  inside  of  three  years." 

He  looked  at  the  picture,  and  then  at  me,  with  a  most  puz 
zled  expression,  unable  to  say  anything,  until  I,  oppressed  with 
his  silence,  and  unable  to  endure  longer  a  scene  that  was  be 
coming  most  painful  to  both  of  us,  said,  "  Well,  captain,  don't 
you  think  that  the  picture  of  your  lady-love  looks  the  least 
bit  like  your  friend  Harry  Buford  ?  " 

RECOGNITION. 

'A  light  seemed  to  suddenly  break  upon  him;  he  gasped  for 
breath,  and  sank  back  overcome  on  his  pillow,  the  great  drops 
of  perspiration  standing  out  all  over  his  forehead.  Then, 
raising  himself,  he  looked  me  hard  in  the  face,  and,  grasping 
my  hand  tightly,  exclaimed,  u  Can  it  be  possible  that  you  are 
she?" 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  clasping  his  hand  still  tighter,  "  I  am,  indeed, 
your  own  Loreta.  It  was  your  sweetheart  who  fought  by  your 
side  at  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh ;  and  not  only  on  that  occa 
sion,  but  ever  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  she  has  been 
doing  a  soldier's  work  for  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy. 
Can  you  love  her  a  little  for  that  as  well  as  for  herself?  or 
will  you  despise  her  because  she  was  not  willing  to  stay  at 
home  like  other  women,  but  undertook  to  appear  on  the  bat- 
tle-fiell  in  the  guise  of  a  man  for  the  purpose  of  doing  a  man's 
duty?" 

"  I  love  you  ten  times  more  than  ever  for  this,  Loreta ! " 
he  said,  with  a  vehemence  that  brought  tears  of  joy  to  my 
eyes. 

I  then  went  into  a  long  explanation  of  my  reasons  for  acting 
as  I  had  done,  and  gave  him  an  outline  of  my  adventures,  re 
serving  the  details  for  a  future  time  when  he  would  be  stronger 
and  less  agitated.  He  suggested  that  I  sjiould  not  reveal  the 


OUT   OP   THE   HOSPITAL.  333 

secret  to  an}7  one  else  just  at  present ;  whereupon  I  proposed 
that  we  should  continue  as  we  were  until  the  war  was  over, 
I  to  make  such  arrangements,  however,  as  would  .enable  me  to 
be  near  him.  He  would  not  listen  to  anything  of  this  kind,  but 
said,  "  No,  my  noble  lady,  I  can  never  permit  that;  I  cannot 
consent  to  part  from  you  again  until  I  have  called  you  by  the 
endearing  name  of  wife."  He  then  burst  into  tears,  and, 
leaning  his  face  on  my  shoulder,  said,  between  his  sobs,  "  0, 
Loreta,  can  it  be  possible  that  you  have  been  so  far  from  me, 
and  yet  so  near  to  me,  all  this  time  ?  " 

This  interview  had  agitated  both  of  us  greatly,  and,  as 
Captain  De  Caulp  was  still  very  weak,  I  was  somewhat  fearful 
of  the  consequences  to  him  ;  so  I  tore  myself  away,  after  prom 
ising  to  see  him  again  soon,  and  requesting  him  to  compose 
himself,  and  not  let  his  excitement  retard  his  recovery. 

The  crisis  was  past  for  me,  and  all  was  well.  1  had  the 
strongest  assurances  that  a  woman  could  have  of  the  undivided 
love  of  as  noble  a  man  as  ever  breathed  ;  and  to  say  that  I  was 
supremely  happy,  but  faintly  expresses  what  I  felt  as  I  left  the 
chamber  of  Captain  De  Caulp.  It  all  seemed  like  a  dream  to 
me,  but  it  was  a  happy  one,  and  I  desired  never  to  awaken 
from  it.  I  was  of  too  practical  and  decided  a  disposition,  how 
ever,  to  give  way  to  mere  sentiment  on  such  an  occasion  as 
this ;  and  the  fact  that  my  lover  was  still  confined  to  a  sick 
bed  rendered  it  the  more  important  that  I  should  be  about, 
and  making  such  preparations  as  were  necessary  for  our  ap 
proaching  marriage. 

I  felt  quite  strong  enough  to  leave  the  hospital,  and  told 
Dr.  Hay  so.  He  was  a  little  dubious  about  it ;  but  finally  con 
sented  that  I  should  go  out  on  condition  that  I  would  take 
good  care  of  myself,  and  not  attempt  to  enjoy  out-of-door  life 
too  much  of  a  sudden.  As  he  was  himself  about  going  out 
as  I  was  prepared  to  leave  the  hospital,  I  walked  down  the 
street  with  him,  holding  his  arm.  As  we  were  sauntering 
along,  I  asked  him,  "  Doctor,  how  do  you  like  Captain  De 
Caulp?" 

"  0,  very  much,  indeed ! "  said  he.  "  He  is  a  perfect 
gentleman  in  every  respect,  and  a  man  of  very  polished 
manners  and  superior  talents.  He  is  of  foreign  extraction,  I 
think." 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  I  believe  he  is.  I  have  known  him  for  five 
years,  and  I  think  a  great  deal  of  him.  I  was  with  him  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  he  behaved  like  a  true  hero." 


334  WEDDING   PREPARATIONS. 

"  Ah,  indeed ! "  said  the  doctor ;  "  I  knew  that  you  were 
acquainted,  but  I  did  not  know  that  you  had  served  together 
during  the  war." 

"Do  you  think  he  will  soon  be  well?"  I  inquired.  "He 
seems  to  be  getting  along  quite  nicely." 

"  0,  yes,  if  he  takes  proper  care  of  himself.  He  has  had  a 
pretty  hard  time  of  it,  but  I  don't  see  any  reason  why  he 
should  not  be  in  a  fair  way  for  recovery  now,  provided 
nothing  occurs  to  set  him  back.  He  will  have  to  look  out, 
and  not  expose  himself  too  much,  however,  for  a  while 
yet." 

At  the  corner  of  White  Hall  Street  I  left  the  doctor  to  go 
to  the  depot.  He  said,  as  I  parted  from  him,  "  You  must  be 
careful,  and  not  exercise  too  much,  lieutenant,  or  you  will 
suffer  for  it.  You  are  scarcely  fairly  on  your  feet  as  yet." 

I  promised  to  take  care  of  myself,  and  went  to  the  depot, 
arriving  there  just  as  the  down  train  was  coming  in.  I  met  a 
number  of  persons  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  after 
some  conversation  with  them,  took  a  turn  as  far  as  General 
Wash.  Lee's  office,  where  I  had  a  chat  about  the  way  things 
were  going  at  the  front.  I  then  returned  to  the  hospital,  and 
asked  for  my  discharge.  This  was  granted  me,  and  I  also 
obtained  a  ticket  to  go  to  Montgomery,  where  I  had  some 
business  to  attend  to. 

On  my  arrival  at  Montgomery,  I  found  that  the  person  I 
wanted  to  see  was  at  Camp  Watts.  I  accordingly  went 
there ;  and  having  seen  him,  arranged  the  business  I  had 
made  the  trip  for,  and  then  returned  to  Montgomery,  where 
I  remained  all  night.  The  next  day  I  returned  to  Atlanta, 
and  went  immediately  to  the  hospital  to  visit  Captain  De 
Caulp.  To  my  great  joy  I  found  him  out  of  bed,  and  so  much 
improved  that  he  was  confident  of  being  well  enough  to 
walk  out. 

We,  therefore,  went  down  to  the  Thompson  House  together, 
and  I  engaged  a  room,  and  set  about  making  preparations  for 
my  marriage. 

I  was  anxious  that  the  affair  should  pass  off  as  quietly  as  pos 
sible,  and  particularly  desired  not  to  give  any  opportunity  for 
unseemly  gossip  or  talk ;  and  on  discussing  the  matter  with 
Captain  De  Caulp,  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would 
be  better  to  tell  the  whole  story  to  Drs.  Benton  and  Ham 
mond,  and  to  ask  them  to  witness  the  ceremony,  under  a 
promise  to  say  nothing  to  any  one  about  the  fact  of  my  hay- 


A   QUIET   WEDDING.  335 

ing  worn  the  uniform  of  a  Confederate  officer.  We,  how 
ever,  resolved  to  take  no  one  else  into  our  confidence, 
although  there  were  several  good  friends  of  both  of  us  in 
the  town,  whom  we  would  have  been  glad  to  have  had  at  our 
wedding. 

I  procured  a  sufficiency  of  woman's  apparel  for  my  wedding 
outfit,  by  purchasing  at  a  variety  of  places,  under  the  pleas 
that  I  wanted  the  garments  for  some  persons  out  of  town,  or 
for  presents  to  the  girls  at  the  hotel  —  in  fact,  making  up 
whatever  story  I  thought  would  answer  my  purpose.  My 
trousseau  was,  perhaps,  not  so  complete  or  so  elegant  as  it 
might  have  been  under  some  circumstances,  or  as  I  could  have 
desired  ;  but  then,  the  particular  circumstances  under  which 
the  wedding  was  to  take  place  were  peculiar,  and  neither  the 
bridegroom  nor  the  bride  was  disposed  to  be  over  ceremo 
nious,  or  to  make  much  ado  about  trifles.  So  long  as  the 
captain  and  myself  were  satisfied,  it  did  not  much  matter 
whether  any  one  else  was  pleased  or  not ;  and  we  both  con 
cluded  that  a  very  modest  wardrobe  would  be  all  that  I  would 
need,  the  main  thing  being  that  I  should  be  dressed  as  a 
woman  when  the  ceremony  took  place,  for  fear  of  creating  too 
much  of  a  sensation,  and,  perhaps,  of  making  the  clergyman 
feel  unpleasant  should  I  appear  before  him,  hanging  on  the 
captain's  arm,  in  my  uniform. 

My  arrangements  having  all  been  made,  we  concluded  to 
inform  the  friends  whom  we  had  agreed  to  invite ;  and  ac 
cordingly  we  walked  to  the  hospital  together,  when  the  cap 
tain  called  Dr.  Benton  into  his  private  room,  and  astonished 
him  by  telling  him  that  he  was  going  to  be  married,  and  by 
asking  him  to  attend  the  wedding.  I  broke  the  news  as 
gently  as  I  could  to  Dr.  Hammond,  who  scarcely  knew  what  to 
make  of  it  at  first,  but  who,  when  I  made  him  clearly  under 
stand  the  situation,  gave  me  his  hearty  congratulations,  and 
promised  to  be  present  when  the  happy  event  came  off. 

A  WEDDING. 

The  next  day  Captain  De  Caulp  and  I  were  married  in  the 
parlor  of  the  hotel  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pinkington,  the  post  chap 
lain,  in  as  quiet  and  unpretentious  a  way  as  either  of  us  could 
desire.  The  clergyman  and  our  kind  friends  wished  us  all 
manner  of  happiness ;  and  we  both  looked  forward  to  a  bright 
future,  when,  after  the  war  was  over,  we  could  settle  down  in 


336  THE   CALL    OF   DUTY. 

our  home,  and  enjoy  the  blessings  of  peace  in  each  other's 
society.  Alas  !  if  wishes  could  only  make  us  happy,  there 
would  be  but  little  misery  in  this  world  of  ours.  Neither 
Captain  De  Caulp  nor  myself,  as  we  stood  up  that  day,  and 
pronounced  the  words  that  made  us  man  and  wife,  had  any  but 
pleasant  anticipations  for  the  future,  and  little  imagined  how 
brief  a  time  we  would  be  permitted  to  be  together. 

I  was  very  desirous  of  resuming  my  uniform,  and  of  accom 
panying  my  husband  to  the  field.  I  wanted  to  go  through  the 
war  with  him,  and  to  fight  by  his  side,  just  as  I  had  done  at 
Shiloh.  He,  however,  was  bitterly  opposed  to  this  ;  and,  with 
my  ample  knowledge  of  army  life,  I  could  not  but  admit  the 
full  force  of  his  objections.  He  contended,  that,  apart  from 
everything  else,  I  had  served  my  country  long  enough  as  a 
soldier,  and  that  I  was  under  some  obligation  now  to  think  of 
him  as  well  as  of  myself,  and  no  longer  to  peril  life,  health, 
and  reputation  by  exposing  myself,  as  I  had  been  doing. 
He  said  that  he  would  fight  twice  as  hard  as  before,  and  that 
would  answer  for  both  of  us,  although  he  was  not  sure  but 
that  what  I  had  done  ought  to  count  in  his  favor,  —  as  man 
and  wife  were  one,  —  and  procure  him  a  release  from  further 
service. 

I  very  reluctantly  yielded  an  assent  to  his  wishes,  although, 
if  I  could  have  looked  a  little  into  the  future,  I  either  would 
have  prevented  his  going  to  the  front  at  all,  or  else  would  have 
insisted  upon  going  with  him.  Indeed,  he  ought  not  to  have 
gone  when  he  did ;  but  he  knew  that  the  services  of  every 
man  were  needed,  and  so  soon  as  he  was  at  all  able  to  be 
on  duty,  he  felt  as  if  he  was  shirking  his  share  of  the  work 
by  remaining  at  the  rear  when  so  much  hard  fighting  was 
going  on. 

Our  honeymoon  was  a  very  brief  one.  In  about  a  week  he 
thought  himself  well  enough  to  report  for  duty ;  and  he  insisted 
upon  going,  notwithstanding  my  entreaties  for  him  to  remain 
until  his  health  was  more  robust.  Had  he  been  really  fit  to 
endure  the  exposure  and  toil  of  campaigning,  I  would  never 
have  offered  to  stay  him  by  a  word ;  for  my  patriotism,  although 
perhaps  not  of  so  fiery  a  nature,  was  as  intense  now  as  it  was 
when  I  besought  my  first  husband  to  permit  me  to  accompany 
him  to  the  field ;  and  I  considered  it  the  duty  of  every  man, 
who  was  at  all  able  to  take  a  hand  in  the  great  work  of  resist 
ing  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  to  do  so.  But  Captain  De 
Caulp,  I  knew,  was  far  from  being  the  strong  man  he  once  was, 


ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSON. 


W.  J.  HARDEE. 


BRAXTON  BRAGG. 


BENJAMIN  F.  CHEATHAM. 


A  TERRIBLE  BLOW.  337 

and  I  feared  the  consequences  should  he  persist  in  carrying 
out  his  resolve. 

He  did  persist,  however,  in  spite  of  all  I  could  say ;  and  so, 
when  I  found  that  further  argument  would  be  useless,  I  pre 
pared  his  baggage,  and  bade  him  a  sorrowful  adieu.  Alas ! 
the  adieu  was  a  final  one,  for  I  never  saw  him  afterwards  ;  and 
within  three  short  weeks  of  my  marriage,  I  was  a  widow 
again ! 

.  *    DEATH  OF  MY  HUSBAND. 

Before  reaching  his  command,  Captain  De  Caulp  was  taken 
sick  again ;  and  before  I  obtained  any  information  of  his  con 
dition,  he  had  died  in  a  Federal  hospital  in  Chattanooga.  This 
was  a  terrible  blow  to  me,  for  I  tenderly  loved  my  husband, 
and  was  greatly  beloved  by  him.  Our  short  married  life  was 
a  very  happy  one,  and  its  sudden  ending  brought  to  nought 
all  the  pleasant  plans  I  had  formed  for  the  future,  and  left  me 
nothing  to  do  but  to  launch  once  more  on  a  life  of  adventure, 
and  to  devote  my  energies  to  the  advancement  of  the  Confed 
erate  cause. 

Captain  De  Caulp  was  a  native  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 
His  father  was  of  French  descent,  and  his  mother  was  a  Der 
byshire  woman.  He  was  very  highly  educated,  having  studied 
in  England  and  France  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  phy 
sician.  His  fondness  for  roaming,  however,  induced  him  to 
abandon  this  design;  and  in  1857  he  and  his  brother  came  to 
this  country,  and  travelled  over  the  greater  part  of  it  until  1859. 
In  the  last-named  year  he  joined  the  United  States  army,  but 
on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  he  came  South,  and  offered  his 
services  to  the  Confederacy.  From  first  to  last  he  fought  nobly 
for  the  cause  which  he  espoused,  and  he  died  in  the  firm  be 
lief  that  the  Southern  States  would  ultimately  gain  their  inde 
pendence. 

Few  more  honorable,  or  truer,  or  braver,  men  than  Cap 
tain  De  Caulp  have  ever  lived.  He  was  tall  in  stature,  with 
a  very  imposing  presence.  His  hair  was  auburn,  and  he  had 
a  large,  full,  dark,  hazel  eye.  He  was  a  very  powerful  man,  but 
as  gentle  as  a  child,  and  exceedingly  affable  in  his  disposition, 
and  remarkably  prepossessing  in  his  manners.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  about  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  I  made 
an  endeavor  to  procure  his  body  for  the  purpose  of  sending  it 
to  his  relatives  in  Scotland,  in  accordance  with  his  last  request ; 
but,  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the  military  situation,  —  the 
22 


338  CAPTAIN  DE  CAULP'S  BROTHER. 

Federals  being  in  possession  of  Chattanooga,  —  I  was  unable 
to  do  so. 

Captain  De  Caulp's  brother  was  also  in  the  Southern  army, 
and  also  held  the  rank  of  captain.  He  died  in  Nashville  just 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  leaving  a  wife,  who  died  in  New 
York. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

IN  THE  CONFEDERATE   SECRET    SERVICE. 

Altered  Circumstances.  —  The  Result  of  two  Years  and  a  half  Experience 
in  Warfare.  —  The  Difference  between  the  Emotions  of  a  raw  Recruit 
and  a  Veteran.  —  Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  deciding  what  Course  it  was 
best  to  pursue  for  the  Future.  —  I  resolve  to  go  to  Richmond  in  Search 
of  active  Employment  of  some  Kind.  —  The  military  Situation  in  the 
Autumn  of  1863.  — Concentration  of  the  Armies  at  Richmond  and  Chat 
tanooga.  —  Richmond  safe  from  Capture.  —  The  Results  of  the  Battle 
of  Chickamauga.  —  Rosecrans  penned  up  in  Chattanooga  by  Bragg.  — 
The  Pinch  of  the  Fight  approaching. — Hopes  of  foreign  Intervention. 

—  An  apparently  encouraging  Condition  of  Affairs I  go  to  Richmond, 

and  have  Interviews  with  President  Davis  and  General  Winder.  —  I  am 
furnished  by  the  latter  with  a  Letter  of  Recommendation,  and  start  on  a 
grand  Tour  through  the  Confederacy.  —  Arrival  at  Mobile,  and  meeting 
with  old  Army  Friends. 


| HEN,  under  the  influence  of  the  grief 
caused  by  the  sudden  death  of  my  second 
husband,  within  so  brief  a  period  after 
our  marriage,  I  felt  impelled  to  devote 
anew  to  the  task  of  advancing  the  cause  of 
the  Confederacy  by  all  the  means  in  my  power,  the 
circumstances  were  all  materially  different  from  what 
they  were  when,  the  first  time  I  was  made  a  widow,  I 
started  for  Virginia,  full  of  the  idea  of  taking  part  in 
whatever  fighting  was  to  be  done.  It  was  no  longer 
possible  for  me  to  figure  as  successfully  in  the  character  of 
a  soldier  as  I  had  done.  My  secret  was  now  known  to  a 
great  many  persons,  and  its  discovery  had  already  caused  me 
such  annoyance  that  I  hesitated  about  assuming  my  uniform 
again,  especially  as  I  believed  that,  as  a  woman,  I  could  per 
form  very  efficient  service  if  I  were  only  afforded  proper 
opportunity. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  husband's  death,  I  was  full  of  an  idea 
which  had  filled  my  brain  ever  since  I  could  remember,  and 

339 


340  ANXIOUS  FOR  EMPLOYMENT. 

was  bent  upon  accomplishing  it  at  all  hazards.  I  had  attired 
myself  in  the  uniform  of  an  officer,  had  enlisted  a  large  body 
of  men  by  my  own  unaided  exertions,  had  marched  them  from 
Arkansas  to  Pensacola,  and  was  firmly  resolved  to  see  some 
fighting,  and  to  win  some  military  glory,  if  any  was  to  be 
won.  My  desire  was  that  my  husband  should  command  the 
battalion  I  had  raised,  and  should  permit  me  to  serve  with 
him.  His  death,  however,  frustrated  my  plans,  and  threw  me 
on  my  own  resources.  I  was  then  inspired,  not  only  with  a 
desire  to  win  personal  distinction,  but  to  avenge  him ;  and  I 
started  for  the  front  with  the  vaguest  possible  idea  concern 
ing  what  warfare  really  was,  or  what  I  was  to  do.  My  main 
thought,  however,  was  to  see  a  battle,  and  to  take  part  in  one. 
I  had  been  reading  all  my  life  about  heroic  deeds,  and  dream 
ing  day  and  night  about  the  achievement  of  glory,  and  was, 
perhaps,  more  impressed  with  the  notion  of  becoming  a  second 
Joan  of  Arc  than  anything  else. 

After  nearly  two  years  and  a  half  experience  of  warfare, 
these  early  ideas,  when  I  reflected  upon  the  hap-hazard  man 
ner  in  which  I  had  started  out,  appeared  ludicrous  enough  in 
some  of  their  aspects,  and  yet  I  would  have  given  a  great  deal 
could  I  have  been  impressed  with  some  of  my  original  en 
thusiasm,  when,  a  second  time  a  widow,  I  made  up  my  mind 
again  to  take  part,  in  some  shape,  in  the  great  conflict  which 
was  yet  far  from  its  close. 

THE  LESSONS  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

I  had  seen  enough  of  fighting,  enough  of  marching,  enough 
of  camp  life,  enough  of  prisons  and  hospitals,  and  I  had 
passed  through  enough  peril  and  suffering  to  satisy  any  rea 
sonable  human  being.  These  experiences,  however,  while 
they  had  made  me  weary  of  war,  would  also,  I  well  knew, 
especially  qualify  me  to  perform  any  work  I  might  undertake 
in  a  most  satisfactory  manner,  and  would  render  my  services 
much  more  valuable  than  they  could  have  been  in  the  early 
days  of  the  contest.  It  was  a  feverish  desire  to  be  in  motion, 
to  be  doing  something,  to  have  occupation  for  mind  and  body, 
such  as  would  prevent  me  from  dwelling  on  my  griefs,  more 
than  any  ambitious  designs  or  aspirations  for  personal  distinc 
tions,  that  now  impelled  me  to  seek  for  employment  in  some 
shape,  under  the  Confederate  government,  which  would  enable 
me  to  do  something  further  to  advance  the  interest  of  the 


PLANS  FOR  THE  FUTURE.  341 

cause  to  which  I  had  already  given  myself,  heart  and  soul, 
during  more  than  two  of  the  best  years  of  my  life. 

That  I  did  not  feel  exactly  the  same  enthusiasm  now  that  I 
did  in  the  spring  of  1861,  was  due,  not  to  any  feeling  of  cold 
ness  towards  the  cause,  nor  to  any  lack  of  disposition  to  do 
anything  in  my  power  to  win  the  final  victory,  which  I  still 
hoped,  in  spite  of  every  discouragement,  would  crown  our 
efforts,  but  to  circumstances  which  every  veteran  soldier  will 
appreciate.  These  circumstances  were  the  more  potent  in 
my  case  from  the  fact  that  I  was  a  woman,  and  in  endeavoring 
to  carry  out  my  notions  with  regard  to  the  best  way  of  making 
my  services  of  the  utmost  value,  was  consequently  hampered 
in  many  ways  that  men  were  not.  For  having  dared  to 
assume  a  man's  garb,  for  the  purpose  of  doing  a  man's  work,  I 
had  been  treated  with  contumely,  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
by  those  who  ought  at  least  to  have  given  me  credit  for  my 
intentions,  and  although  my  comrades  of  the  camp  and  the 
battle-field  —  or  at  least  all  of  them  whose  good  opinion  was 
worth  having —  esteemed  me  for  what  I  had  done,  and  for  what 
I  tried  to  do,  bestowing  ample  praise  upon  me  for  my  valor  and 
efficiency  as  a  soldier,  I  was  getting  out  of  the  notion  of  sub 
jecting  myself  to  the  liability  of  being  locked  up  by  every  local 
magistrate  within  whose  jurisdiction  I  happened  to  find  myself, 
simply  because  I  did  not  elect  to  dress  according  to  his 
notions  of  propriety. 

A  PERPLEXING  SITUATION. 

I  was  a  little  dubious,  therefore,  with  regard  to  what  course 
it  was  best  for  me  to  pursue,  especially  as,  apart  from  all  other 
considerations,  my  health  was  not  so  robust  as  it  had  been, 
and  my  husband's  fate  was  a  warning  to  me  not  to  expose 
myself  as  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  'doing,  at  least  until  I  had 
fully  regained  my  strength.  On  reviewing  the  whole  subject 
in  my  mind,  I  became  more  than  ever  convinced  that  the 
secret  service  rather  than  the  army  would  afford  me  the  best 
field  for  the  exercise  of  my  talent,  although  I  almost  more 
than  half  made  up  my  mind  to  enter  the  army  again,  and  try 
my  luck,  as  I  had  originally  done,  disguised  as  an  officer,  in 
case  I  found  it  impossible  to  become  attached  to  the  secret 
service  department  in  the  manner  I  wished. 

I  finally  concluded  that  the  best  thing  for  me  to  do  was  to 
go  to  Richmond,  and  if  nothing  else  availed,  to  make  a  per- 


342  THE   MILITARY   SITUATION. 

sonal  appeal  to  President  Davis,  feeling  assured  that  when  he 
heard  my  story  he  would  appreciate  the  motives  which  ani 
mated  me,  and  would  use  his  influence  to  have  me  assigned  to 
such  duty  as  I  was  best  qualified  to  perform  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.  This  resolve  having  once  been  made,  I  prepared, 
without  more  delay,  to  visit  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy, 
leaving  behind  me  Atlanta,  with  its  mingled  memories  of 
pleasure  and  pain. 

THE  PROGRESS  OP  THE  WAR. 

The  military  situation  at  this  time — the  autumn  of  1863  — 
was  of  painful  interest,  and  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy  seemed 
to  hang  trembling  in  the  balance.  In  Virginia,  General  Lee 
was  defending  Richmond  with  all  his  old  success,  and  was 
holding  one  immense  army  in  check  so  effectively  that  the 
prospect  of  ever  entering  the  Confederate  capital  as  conquerors 
must  have  seemed  to  the  enemy  more  remote  than  ever.  In 
the  West  and  South,  however,  the  Confederates  had  lost  much, 
and  the  question  now  with  them  was,  whether  they  would  be 
able  to  hold  what  they  had  until  the  Federals  were  tired  out 
and  exhausted,  or  until  England  and  France,  wearied  of  the 
prolonged  contest,  consented  'to  aid  in  terminating  it  by 
recognizing  the  Confederacy,  and  perhaps  by  armed  inter 
vention. 

It  was  known  that  there  were  dissensions  at  the  North,  and 
that  there  was  a  strong  anti-war  party,  which  it  was  ex 
pected  would,  ere  long,  make  its  power  felt  as  it  had  never 
done  before ;  and  if  the  South  could  hold  out  for  a  season 
longer,  would  insist  upon  a  peace  being  concluded  upon  almost 
any  terms.  Great  expectations  were  also  built  upon  foreign 
intervention,  which  every  one  felt  had  been  delayed  longer 
than  there  was  any  just  reason  for,  but  which  it  was  thought 
could  not  but  take  place  shortly.  Every  little  while  exciting 
rumors  were  set  afloat,  no  one  knew  how  or  by  whom,  that 
either  France  or  England  had  recognized  the  Confederacy, 
and  many  bitter  disappointments  were  caused  when  their 
falsity  was  proved.  The  people,  however,  hoped  on,  getting 
poorer  and  poorer  every  day,  and  eagerly  watching  the  prog 
ress  of  the  campaign  around  Chattanooga. 

The  Mississippi  River  was  now  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Federals,  and  not  only  were  the  trans- Mississippi  states,  as  far 
as  any  effective  military  or  political  co-operation  was  con- 


THE  CONFEDERATE  CAUSE  NOT  HOPELESS.       343 

cerned,  lost  to  the  Confederacy,  but  the  question  now  was 
whether  the  war  was  not  to  be  transferred  from  the  ground 
west  of  the  mountains  to  the  rich  fields  of  Georgia.  Bragg 
had  been  compelled  to  fall  back  with  most  of  his  forces  to 
Chattanooga,  and  had  been  expelled  from  that  place,  which  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals.  All  efforts  on  the  part  of 
the  Federals  to  advance  beyond  Chattanooga,  however,  had 
utterly  failed,  and  the  opinion,  at  the  time  of  which  I  am 
writing,  was  gaining  ground  that  they  had  been  caught  in  a 
trap,  and  would,  in  a  short  time,  be  incapable  of  either  ad 
vancing  or  retreating. 

While  I  was  in  the  hospital,  Bragg  gained  his  great  victory  at 
Chickamauga,  and  great  hopes  were  excited  that  he  would  be 
able  to  follow  it  up  with  effect,  and  succeed  in  destroying  the 
army  of  Rosecrans.  Had  he  succeeded  in  doing  this,  the  war 
would  have  had  a  different  ending,  and  the  independence  of 
the  South  would  have  been  secured.  It  was  felt  by  every 
body  that  the  pinch  of  the  fight  was  approaching,  and  that  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Chattanooga,  rather  than  in  that  of  Rich 
mond,  would  the  decisive  battle  of  the  war  be  fought,  and,  it 
was  hoped,  won  for  the  Confederacy. 

It  was  at  Richmond  and  at  Chattanooga  that  the  contending 
forces  were  massed,  although  there  was  plenty  of  fighting 
going  on  elsewhere,  and  some  of  these  minor  campaigns  were 
of  great  importance  in  their  influence  on  the  fortunes  of  the 
war,  and  did  much  to  enable  the  Confederacy  to  prolong  the 
contest  for  nearly  eighteen  months. 

Much  as  we  had  lost,  the  situation  was  not  an  altogether 
discouraging  one  for  the  Confederacy.  Richmond  was  appar 
ently  more  secure  than  it  had  been  two  years  and  a  half 
before,  and  nearly  all  the  honors  of  the  war  in  that  vicinity 
had  been  carried  off  by  the  Confederates.  Lee  was  making 
himself  a  name  as  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  the  age, 
while  the  Federals,  although  they  changed  the  commanders 
of  their  army  continually,  were  making  no  headway  against 
him,  and  were  in  constant  fear  of  an  invasion  of  their  own  ter 
ritory.  In  the  South,  Bragg  had  just  achieved  a  great  victory 
over  Rosecrans,  and  had  him  now  penned  up  in  Chattanooga, 
from  which  it  was  next  to  impossible  for  him  to  escape  in 
either  direction,  and  to  keep  him  there,  and  either  fight  him: or 
starve  him  into  surrendering  before  sufficient  re-enforcement 
to  enable  him  to  assume  the  offensive,  was  the  task  the  Con 
federate  army  had  before  it. 


344  EXPECTATIONS  NOT   REALIZED. 

Well,  matters  did  not  turn  out  as  it  was  expected  they 
would.  Bragg's  victory  at  Chickamauga  was  a  fruitless  one, 
except  so  far  as  it  delayed  the  Federal  advance  from  Chatta 
nooga,  and  the  army  of  Kosecrans  was  neither  starved  nor 
beaten  into  subjection.  On  the  contrary,  Rosecrans  was 
superseded,  and  Grant  was  put  in  his  place,  to  follow  up  the 
victories  he  had  won  at  Fort  Donelson,  Shiloh,  and  Vicksburg  ; 
and  the  army  was  so  greatly  re-enforced  that  it  was  enabled 
to  press  forward  and  menace  Atlanta,  and  finally  to  capture 
it.  The  results  of  that  capture  are  well  known. 

OFF  FOR  RICHMOND  AGAIN. 

The  capture  of  Atlanta,  however,  was  a  long  way  off  when 
I  started  for  Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  definite 
offer  of  my  services  to  the  Confederate  authorities  there,  and 
was  apparently  as  little  likely  to  occur  as  was  that  of  Rich 
mond.  Bad  as  the  condition  of  things,  in  many  particulars, 
was,  I  was  in  a  more  hopeful  frame  of  mind  than  I  had  been 
for  a  long  time,  and  I  was  anxious  to  labor,  as  I  felt  that  I  was 
able  to  labor,  in  behalf  of  the  cause. 

Had  I  then  known  as  much  as  I  knew  not  a  great  while 
after,  I  would  not  have  put  myself  to  the  trouble  of  going  to 
Richmond  for  the  purpose  of  asking  for  work,  but  would  at 
once  have  executed  the  project  which  I  had  frequently  con 
templated,  and  which  I  had  more  than  once  been  on  the  point 
of  carrying  into  effect,  and  would  have  gone  directly  north, 
and  have  put  myself  in  communication  with,  the  friends,  sym 
pathizers,  and  agents  of  the  Confederacy  there.  This  was  the 
true  field  for  me  to  operate  in,  although  I  had  no  idea,  at  this 
time,  what  opportunities  a  residence  at  the  North  would  give 
me  for  aiding  the  cause  in  a  most  efficient  manner.  It  was 
chance  rather  than  design  that  finally  took  me  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Federal  government,  and  enabled  me  to  do 
more  to  baffle  its  efforts  to  crush  the  Confederacy  by  my  opera 
tions  in  the  rear  of  its  armies  in  one  year,  than  I  had  been  able 
to  do  in  three  while  endeavoring  to  fight  them  face  to  face. 

INTERVIEWS  WITH  PRESIDENT  DAVIS  AND  GENERAL  WINDER. 

With  only  the  most  indefinite  plans  for  the  future,  and  little 
suspecting  what  exciting  and  perilous  adventures  fate  yet  had 
in  store  for  me,  I  proceeded,  on  my  arrival  in  Richmond,  to  call 


SOMETHING   BETTER   THAN   NOTHING.  345 

on  General  Winder,  and  took  measures  to  procure  an  interview 
with  President  Davis.  From  General  Winder  I  did  not  obtain 
much  satisfaction ;  and  Mr.  Davis,  while  he  was  very  kind  to 
me,  did  not  give  me  a  great  deal  of  encouragement.  I  repre 
sented  to  President  Davis  that  I  had  been  working  hard  for 
the  Confederacy,  both  as  a  soldier  and  a  spy,  and  that  I  had 
braved  death  on  more  than  one  desperately  fought  battle-field 
while  acting  as  an  independent,  and  that  now  I  thought  I  was 
deserving  of  some  official  recognition.  Moreover,  I  had  lost 
my  husband  through  his  devotion  to  the  cause,  and,  both  for 
his  sake  and  for  my  own,  I  desired  that  the  government  would 
give  me  such  a  position  in  the  secret  service  corps  or  else 
where  as  would  enable  me  to  carry  on  with  the  best  effect  the 
work  that  he  and  I  had  begun. 

Mr.  Davis  was  opposed  to  permitting  me  to  serve  in  the 
army  as  an  officer,  attired  in  male  costume,  while  he  had  no 
duties  to  which  he  could  properly  assign  me  as  a  woman.  I 
left  his  presence,  not  ungratified  by  the  kindness  of  his  man 
ner  towards  me,  and  the  sympathy  which  he  expressed  for  my 
bereavement,  but  none  the  less  much  disappointed  at  the  non- 
success  of  my  interview  with  him. 

Failing  to  obtain  any  satisfaction  from  Mr.  Davis,  I  returned 
to  General  Winder,  but  got  comparatively  little  encourage 
ment  from  him.  He  finally,  however,  consented  to  give  me  a 
letter  of  recommendation  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
forces  in  the  South  and  West,  and  transportation.  This  was 
not  exactly  what  I  wanted,  but  it  was  better  than  nothing ; 
and  I  thought  that,  armed  with  such  a  letter,  I  could  scarcely 
fail  to  accomplish  something  that  would  be  satisfactory  to 
myself,  and  of  value  to  the  cause. 

ON  ANOTHER  GRAND  TOUR. 

Having  obtained  this  important  document  I  started  off,  and, 
for  the  last  time,  made  a  grand  tour  of  the  entire  Southern 
Confederacy.  Stopping  from  point  to  point,  I  gathered  all  the 
information  I  could,  and  thoroughly  posted  myself  with  regard 
to  the  situation,  —  military,  civil,  and  political,  —  and  endeav 
ored  to  find  a  place  where  I  could  commence  active  operations 
with  the  best  chance  of  achieving  something  of  importance. 

I,  however,  during  the  course  of  a  long  journey,  failed  to 
meet  with  the  grand  opportunity  I  sighed  for,  and  met  with 
no  adventure  worthy  of  particular  record,  until  finally  I  reached 


346  DISADVANTAGES    OF   BEING   AN   INDEPENDENT. 

Mobile  —  a  city  I  had  not  visited  since  I  marched  through  it  in 
1861  at  the  head  of  my  gallant  battalion  of  Arkansas  Grays. 

On  arriving  at  Mobile,  I  took  up  my  quarters  at  the  Battle 
House,  with  the  intention  of  taking  a  good  rest,  for  I  was 
weary  with  much  travel,  and,  if  possible,  of  arranging  some 
definite  plan  of  action  for  the  future.  I  was  resolved  now  to 
make  a  bold  stroke  of  some  kind,  and  on  my  own  responsibility 
if  necessary,  trusting  that  my  usual  good  luck  would  accom 
pany  me  in  any  enterprise  I  might  undertake. 

In  Mobile  I  met  quite  a  number  of  officers  whom  I  had  met 
on  the  various  battle-fields  where  I  had  figured,  and  received 
the  kindest  and  best  attentions  from  them  all.  This  was  most 
gratifying  to  me ;  and  the  flattering  commendations  that  were 
bestowed  upon  me  served  to  mitigate  in  a  great  degree  the 
disappointment  I  felt  on  account  of  the  non-recognition  of  the 
value  of  my  services  in  other  quarters. 

I  may  as  well  say  here,  that  in  mentioning  the  disappoint 
ments  I  have  felt  at  different  times  at  not  being  able  to  obtain 
exactly  the  kind  of  official  recognition  I  desired,  I  do  not  wish 
to  appear  as  complaining.  That  I  did  feel  disappointed,  is 
true ;  but  reflection  told  me  that  if  any  one  was  to  blame  it 
was  myself.  By  entering  the  army  as  an  independent,  I 
secured  a  freedom  of  action  and  opportunities  for  participa 
ting  in  a  great  variety  of  adventures  that  I  otherwise  would  not 
have  had,  but  I  also  cut  myself  off  from  opportunities  of  reg 
ular  promotion.  When  I  resolved  to  start  out  as  an  indepen 
dent,  I  was  animated  by  a  variety  of  motives,  not  the  least  of 
.which  was,  that  I  believed  I  would  be  able  to  maintain  my  dis 
guise  to  better  advantage,  and  would  have  better  opportunities 
for  escaping  any  unpleasant  consequences  in  case  of  detection 
than  if  I  attached  myself  regularly  to  a  command.  I  was  right 
in  this,  and  am  now  convinced  that,  on  the  whole,  the  course  I 
pursued  was  the  wisest  one. 

Not  having  been  attached  to  a  regular  command,  at  least  for 
any  great  length  of  time,  it  was  impossible  for  me,  however, 
to  secure  that  standing  with  those  who  were  best  able  to 
reward  my  services  that  was  necessary,  while  the  full  value 
of  my  services  could  only  be  made  known  by  my  taking  a 
number  of  people  into  my  confidence,  and  this  I  had  great 
objections  to  doing.  As  matters  turned  out,  the  peculiar 
experiences  through  which  I  passed,  during  the  first  two 
years  of  the  war,  were  of  the  utmost  value  to  me  in  a  great 
many  ways  in  the  prosecution  of  the  very  important  work  in 


AN  UNCERTAIN   FUTURE.         •  347 

which  I  subsequently  engaged ;  and  I  consequently  had  no  cause 
for  regret  at  having  followed  the  line  of  action  I  did.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  am  writing,  however,  I  could  not  know  what 
the  future  would  bring  forth;  and  although,  without  being 
aware  of  it,  I  was  about  to  enter  upon  a  series  of  enterprises 
of  great  moment,  all  my  plans  seemed  to  have  gone  amiss, 
and  I  certainly  was  not  in  the  most  pleasant  state  of  mind 
imaginable. 

In  writing  this  narrative,  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the  only 
proper  method  is  to  represent  events  as  they  actually  occurred, 
and  to  record  the  impressions  they  made  upon  me  at  the  time 
of  occurrence,  and  not  as  they  were  colored  by  subsequent 
developments.  My  ideas  and  feelings  under  particular  cir 
cumstances  are  as  much  a  part  of  my  story  as  the  narrative 
of  actual  events,  for  my  proceedings  were  guided  and  influ 
enced  by  them ;  and  this  would  scarcely  be  a  fair  record  of 
my  career  while  in  the  Confederate  service  did  I  not  make 
some  mention  of  them. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

ON    DUTY    AS    A    SPY. 

I  receive  a  mysterious  Note  requesting  me  to  meet  the  Writer.  —  I  go 
to  the  appointed  Place,  and  find  an  Officer  of  the  Secret  Service  Corps 
who  wants  me  to  go  through  the  Lines  with  Despatches.  —  I  accept 
the  Commission,  and  the  next  Day  go  to  Meridian  for  the  Purpose  of 
completing  my  Arrangement  and  receiving  my  Instructions.  —  A  Visit 
to  General  Ferguson's  Headquarters.  —  Final  Instructions  from  the 
General,  who  presents  me  with  a  Pistol.  —  I  start  for  the  Federal 
Lines,  and  ride  all  Night  and  all  the  next  Day.  —  A  rough  and  toilsome 
Journey.  —  I  spend  the  Night  in  a  Negro's  Cabin.  —  Off  again  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  Morning  with  an  old  Negro  Man  for  a  Guide.  —  We 
reach  the  Neighborhood  of  the  Federal  Pickets,  and  I  send  my  Guide 
back.  —  I  bury  my  Pistol  in  a  Church.  —  I  am  halted  by  a  Picket- 
guard  and  am  taken  to  Moscow.  —  A  Cross-examination  by  the  Colonel 
in  Command.  —  Satisfactory  Result  for  myself.  —  On  the  Train  for 
Memphis.  —  Insulting  Remarks  from  the  Soldiers.  —  A  Major  inter 
feres  for  my  Protection.  —  Off  for  General  Washburn's  Headquarters. 


HORTLY  after  my  arrival  at  Mobile,  I  received 
a  rather  mysterious  note  in  a  masculine  hand, 
asking  me  to  meet  the  writer  that  evening  at 
the  corner  of  the  square,  but  giving  no  hint 
whatever  of  the  purpose  of  the  invitation.  I 
hesitated  for  some  little  time  about  taking  any  no 
tice  of  the  request,  thinking  that  if  the  writer  had 
any  real  business  "with  me,  he  would  seek  me  out  and 
communicate  with  me  in  a  some  less  mysterious  way. 
On  a  little  reflection,  however,  I  concluded  that  it 
would  be  best  for  me  to  meet  the  gentleman,  whoever  he 
might  be,  according  to  the  terms  of  his  invitation,  and  to 
find  out  who  he  was  and  what  he  wanted.  I  felt  tol 
erably  well  able  to  take  care  of  myself,  although  I  was 
aware  that  the  circumstances  of  my  army  career  being  rather 
extensively  known,  I  was  especially  liable  to  annoyances  of  a 
peculiarly  unpleasant  kind  from  impertinent  people.  Any 
thing  of  this  sort  I  was  resolved  to  resent  in  such  a  manner  that 

348 


A   MATTER   OF   IMPORTANCE.  349 

the  offender  would  have  occasion  to  beware  of  me  in  the 
future. 

The  fact,  however,  that  I  was  travelling  under  credentials 
from  General  Winder,  and  was  in  a  manner  an  attach^  of  the 
Secret  Service  Department,  rendered  it  not  improbable  that 
this  was  an  application  for  me  to  undertake  some  such  enter 
prise  as  I  for  a  long  time  had  been  ardently  desirous  of 
engaging  in.  The  more  I  considered  the  matter,  the  more  I 
was  disposed  to  take  this  view  of  it,  and  accordingly,  at  the 
hour  named,  I  was  promptly  at  the  rendezvous,  wondering 
what  the  result  of  the  adventure  would  be. 

A  MYSTERIOUS  CONFERENCE. 

My  surmise  proved  to  be  correct.  I  had  scarcely  arrived 
at  the  corner  of  the  square,  when  my  correspondent,  who  I 
discovered  was  Lieutenant  Shorter,  of  Arkansas,  advanced 
towards  me,  and  said,  "  Good  evening.  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 
How  have  you  been  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  well,"  I  replied ;  and  waited  for  him  to  intro 
duce  the  subject  concerning  which  he  was  evidently  desirous 
of  conversing  with  me. 

After  a  few  inconsequential  remarks  on  either  side,  he  said, 
"  I  see  that  you  received  my  note." 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  you  must  excuse  me  for  asking  for  a  secret  interview 
like  this,  but  the  matter  I  wanted  to  talk  to  you  about  is  of 
great  importance,  and,  as  in  these  times,  we  don't  know  whom 
to  trust,  it  was  necessary  that  I  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
carry  on  our  conversation  without  danger  of  being  watched 
or  overheard.  You  have  had  considerable  experience  in  run 
ning  through  the  lines,  and  in  spy  and  secret  service  duty,  have 
you  not?" 

"  Yes,"  I  replied  ;  "  I  have  done  something  in  that  line." 

"  You  have  usually  been  tolerably  lucky,  haven't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have  had  reasonably  good  luck.  I  got  caught  once 
in  New  Orleans,  but  that  was  because  the  parties  to  whom  I 
had  delivered  my  despatches  were  captured.  Butler  tried  his 
hand  at  frightening  me,  but  he  did  not  succeed  very  well,  and 
I  managed  to  slip  away  from  him  before  he  had  any  positive 
evidence  against  me  which  would  have  justified  him  in  treat 
ing  me  as  a  spy." 

"  Well,  you're  just  the  kind  I  want,  for  I  have  a  job  on  hand 


350  SECRET   SERVICE   BUSINESS. 

that  will  require  both  skill  and  nerve,  and  I  would  like  you  to 
undertake  it,  especially  as  you  seem  to  have  a  talent  for  dis 
guising  yourself." 

I  concluded  that  I  would  find  out  exactly  what  he  wanted 
me  to  do,  before  I  gave  him  any  satisfaction ;  so  I  said, 
"  What  kind  of  a  job  is  it  ?  I  have  risked  my  neck  pretty 
often  ,  without  getting  very  many  thanks  for  it,  and  I  don't 
know  that  I  care  a  great  deal  about  running  all  kinds  of  risks 
for  little  glory,  and  no  more  substantial  reward. " 

"  0,  come,  now,"  said  he,  "  you  must  not  talk  that  way. 
Now  is  the  very  time  that  your  services  will  be  worth  some 
thing  ;  and  this  bit  of  business  that  I  am  anxious  for  you  to 
undertake,  is  of  such  a  nature,  that  it  would  not  do  to  give  it 
to  any  but  a  first-rate  hand." 

"  Well,  what  is  it  ?  When  I  know  what  you  want  me  to  do, 
I  will  be  better  able  to  say  whether  it  would  be  worth  my 
while  to  do  it." 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  take  a  trip  through  the  lines  ? " 
said  the  lieutenant. 

"  That  depends,"  said  I.  "  What  do  you  want  me  to  make 
the  trip  for  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  that,  when  you  tell  me  whether  you 
will  go." 

I  considered  a  moment,  and  then  said,  "  Yes,  I  will  go,  if 
it  is  for  anything  to  serve  the  cause." 

"  That's  the  way  to  talk,"  said  he.  "  I  am  in  the  secret 
service,  and  I  want  you  to  take  a  despatch  through  the  lines 
and  give  it  to  a  certain  party.  It  will  be  a  big  thing  if  you 
succeed,  as  I  think  you  will,  or  I  wouldn't  have  picked  you 
out  for  the  business." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  will  make  an  effort,  and  do  my  best  to 
succeed." 

,  "  0,  you  must  succeed,"  said  the  lieutenant ;  "  for  there  will 
be  the  devil  to  pay  if  the  Feds  discover  what  you  are  up  to, 
and  you  will  have  to  do  your  prettiest  to  prevent  them  from 
even  suspecting  that  you  are  up  to  any  unlawful  tricks." 

"  I'll  do  my  best,  and  I  can't  do  any  more  than  that ;  but  as 
I  have  fooled  them  before,  so  I  guess  I  can  again." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  that's  all  right.  Now,  what  I  want  you 
to  do  is,  to  meet  me  to-morrow  evening  at  Meridian.  I  will 
have  everything  ready  for  you,  and  will  give  you  your  instruc 
tions,  and  you  be  prepared  for  a  hard  journey.  In  the  mean 
time,  keep  quiet,  and  don't  whisper  a  word  to  anybody." 


ALTERED   DESPATCHES.  351 

We  then  said  good  night  and  parted,  I  going  back  to  the 
hotel  to  do  a  heap  of  thinking  before  I  went  to  sleep.  Lieu 
tenant  Shorter,  beyond  saying  that  I  was  to  go  through  the 
lines,  and  endeavoring  to  impress  upon  me  the  great  importance 
of  the  enterprise,  had  given  me  no  hint  of  where  I  was  to  go, 
or  what  the  exact  nature  of  my  errand  would  be,  and  I  con 
sequently  had  to  depend  upon  myself  in  making  such  prepara 
tions  as  were  necessary.  Having  considered  the  subject  as 
well  as  I  was  able,  I  concluded  to  procure  a  very  plain  suit 
of  woman's  clothing,  and  to  make  up  a  small  bundle  of  such 
few  extra  articles  besides  those  upon  my  back,  as  I  thought  I 
would  require.  My  arrangements  having  been  all  made,  I 
started  for  Meridian  the  next  day,  and  on  my  arrival  at  that 
place  found  Lieutenant  Shorter  waiting  for  me  at  the  depot. 
Under  his  escort  I  went  to  the  hotel  kept  by  a  Mr.  Jones,  and 
was  received  with  great  cordiality  by  him  and  by  his  wife. 
The  lady  especially  was  most  attentive  to  me,  and  did  every 
thing  in  her  power  to  make  me  comfortable. 

I  appreciated  her  kind  attentions  the  more  highly  as  I  was 
far  from  being  well,  and  felt  that  I  was  scarcely  doing  either 
myself  or  the  others  interested  justice  in  undertaking  such 
an  enterprise,  under  a  strong  liability  that  I  might  be  taken 
seriously  sick  before  concluding  it.  I  had  a  great  deal  of 
confidence,  however,  in  my  power  of  will,  and  having  promised 
Lieutenant  Shorter  that  I  would  go,  I  was  determined  to  do 
so,  especially  as  he  represented  the  business  as  being  most 
urgent. 

WHAT  I  WAS  TO  DO. 

Having  obtained  a  room  where  we  could  converse  priVately, 
the  lieutenant  proceeded  to  explain  what  he  wanted  me  to  do, 
and  to  give  me  directions  for  proceeding.  He  said  that  he 
had  captured  a  spy  belonging  to  the  Federal  General  Hurl- 
but's  command,  and  had  taken  from  him  a  paper  containing 
quite  accurate  accounts  of  the  forces  of  Chalmers,  Forrest, 
Richardson,  and  Ferguson,  and  their  movements.  This  he 
had  changed  so  that  it  would  throw  the  enemy  on  the  wrong 
scent,  and  I  was  to  take  it  to  Memphis  and  deliver  it  to  the 
Federal  General  Washburn,  telling  him  such  a  story  as  would 
induce  him  to  believe  that  I  had  obtained  it  from  the  spy. 
He  also  had  a  despatch  for  Forrest,  which  he  wanted  me  to 
carry  to  the  Confederate  secret  agent  in  Memphis,  telling  me 
where  to  find  him,  describing  him  so  that,  I  would  know  him, 


352  AT   GENERAL  FERGUSON'S  HEADQUARTERS. 

and  giving  me  the  password  which  would  enable  me  to  com 
municate  with  him  without  difficulty. 

"  Now,"  said  Shorter,  when  he  had  finished  all  his  explana 
tions,  "  you  see  that  you  will  have  to  keep  your  wits  about 
you,  for  if  you  let  the  Feds  get  their  fingers  on  these  papers 
it  will  be  all  up  with  you.  When  you  reach  Memphis,  deliver 
this  bogus  account  of  the  movement  of  our  troops  to  General 
Washburn  immediately,  and  get  him  and  his  people  well 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  you  are  on  their  side  ;  then,  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment,  give  this  despatch  for  Forrest 
to  our  agent.  I  will  know  by  the  success  of  the  movement 
that  Forrest  is  to  make  whether  you  are  successful  or  not." 

After  some  further  conversation  about  the  best  plan  of 
proceeding,  and  further  explanations  about  what  I  should  do, 
Lieutenant  Shorter  suggested  some  changes  in  my  dress,  his 
idea  being,  that  I  should  personate  a  poor  countrywoman, 
who  had  lost  her  husband  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  who 
was  flying  into  the  Federal  lines  for  protection.  He  also  gave 
me  letters  to  the  different  Confederate  commanders  whom  I 
would  meet  on  my  road,  directing  them  to  assist  me,  and  put 
in  my  hand  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  in 
greenbacks  which  had  been  taken  from  the  captured  spy. 
This,  he  thought,  would  see  me  through,  but  in  case  it  should 
not  prove  sufficient,  he  said,  that  if  I  made  my  wants  known, 
any  commanding  officer  I  met  would  supply  me  with  funds, 
and  that  after  I  reached  Memphis  I  would  find  plenty  of 
friends  of  the  Confederacy  upon  whom  I  could  call  for 
assistance. 

Everything  being  in  readiness  for  my  journey,  the  next 
morning  I  took  the  train  for  Okolona,  where,  procuring  a  pass 
from  Captain  Mariotta,  the  provost  marshal,  I  hired  a  convey 
ance,  and  drove  to  the  headquarters  of  General  Ferguson. 
On  showing  my  order  for  assistance  to  the  general,  he  received 
me  with  the  greatest  politeness,  and  invited  me  into  his 
quarters,  where  he  gave  me  some  information  and  additional 
instructions,  and  reiterated  Lieutenant  Shorter's  cautions  to 
be  vigilant  and  careful,  as  I  was  on  a  mission  of  great 
importance. 

The  general  then  handed  me  ninety  dollars,  and  presented 
me  with  a  pistol,  which  he  said  was  one  of  a  pair  he  had 
carried  through  the  war.  The  money  he  was  sure  I  would 
need,  and  the  pistol  might  be  a  handy  thing  to  have  in  case  I 
should  be  compelled  to  defend  myself,  for  my  journey  would 


A  ROUGH  SHELTER  FOR  THE  NIGHT.  353 

take  me  through  a  rough  country,  and  I  might  chance  to  meet 
with  stragglers  who  would  give  me  trouble.  He  advised  me, 
however,  not  to  use  the  weapon  except  in  case  of  absolute 
necessity,  and  especially  not  to  carry  it  with  me  into  the 
Federal  lines,  for  if  it  was  discovered  that  I  had  it  about  me, 
it  might  excite  suspicions  that  I  was  a  spy,  when  such  a  thing 
would  not  otherwise  be  thought  of. 

A  fine  horse  having  been  provided  for  me,  I  said  adieu  to 
General  Ferguson,  who  wished  me  good  luck,  and  started  off 
with  an  escort  who  was  to  conduct  me  to  a  point  somewhere 
to  the  north-east  of  Holly  Springs,  from  whence  I  would  have 
to  make  my  way  alone,  getting  into  the  Federal  lines  as  best 
I  could. 

A  ROUGH  JOURNEY. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  was  quite  sick,  and  sometimes 
felt  that  I  could  scarcely  sit  upon  my  horse,  I  rode  all  that 
night  and  nearly  all  the  next  day,  through  lonesome  woods, 
past  desolate  clearings,  —  occupied,  if  at  all,  by  poor  negroes, 
or  even  poorer  whites,  all  of  whom  had  a  half-terrified  look,  as 
if  they  were  expecting  every  moment  to  have  a  rapacious 
soldiery  come  tramping  through  their  little  patches  of  ground, 
and  appropriating  whatever  was  eatable  or  worth  taking,  — 
through  gullies  and  ravines,  and  over  the  roughest  kind  of 
roads,  or  sometimes  no  roads  at  all.  At  length  we  reached  a 
negro's  cabin,  which,  although  it  was  but  a  poor  shelter,  was 
better  than  nothing  at  all,  and  feeling  too  ill  to  proceed  any 
farther  without  rest  and  refreshments,  I  resolved  to  stop  there 
all  night. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  cabin  were  not  very  much  inclined 
to  be  over  communicative,  and  apparently  did  not  want  me  for 
a  lodger,  and  their  abode  was  not  one  that  I  would  have 
cared  to  make  a  prolonged  sojourn  in.  I  was  too  much  of  a 
veteran  campaigner,  however,  to  be  over  fastidious  about  my 
accommodations  for  a  single  night,  and  was  too  sick  not  to 
find  any  shelter  welcome.  From  what  I  could  learn  from 
these  people,  I  was  not  very  many  miles  from  the  Federal 
lines,  and  I  secured  their  good  will,  to  a  reasonable  degree, 
by  promising  to  pay  well  for  my  night's  lodging,  and  what 
was  given  me  to  eat,  and  finally  succeeded  in  inducing  them 
to  bestir  themselves  to  make  me  as  comfortable  as  circum 
stances  would  permit.  I  also  struck  up  a  bargain  with  an  old 
man  who  appeared  to  be  the  head  of  the  household,  such  as  it 
23 


354  AN  EARLY   MORNING  RIDE. 

was,  to  act  as  a  guide  for  me  in  the  morning,  and  to  conduct 
me  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Federal  pickets. 

I  wished  my  escort  now  to  return  to  General  Ferguson's 
headquarters,  but,  as  he  suggested  that  the  negroes  might 
prove  treacherous,  we  both  concluded  that  it  would  be  best 
for  him  to  remain  until  I  was  fairly  started  in  the  morning  on 
my  way  to  the  Federal  lines.  A  supper  which,  under  some 
circumstances  I  would  scarcely  have  found  eatable,  was  pre 
pared  for  us,  and  I  partook  of  it  with  a  certain  degree  of 
relish,  despite  the  coarse  quality  of  the  food,  being  too  tired 
and  hungry  to  be  critical  or  squeamish.  Then,  completely 
used  up  by  my  long  and  toilsome  ride,  I  retired  to  the  misera 
ble  bed  that  was  assigned  me,  and  ere  long  was  in  happy 
obliviousness  of  the  cares  and  trials  of  this  world. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  up  and  ready 
to  start,  after  having  made  a  hasty  toilet,  and  after  a  break 
fast  which  served  to  satisfy  my  hunger,  but  which  certainly 
did  not  tempt  my  palate.  My  escort  now  bade  me  good -by, 
and  was  soon  out  of  sight,  on  his  way  back  to  camp,  while 
I,  mounted  on  a  little  pony,  and  with  the  old  negro  to  lead 
the  way,  faced  in  the  opposite  direction. 

Through  woods,  over  fields,  along  rough  country  roads, 
and  often  along  mere  pathways  that  could  not  be  called  roads 
at  all,  making  short  cuts  wherever  we  saw  a  chance  to  do 
so,  often  dubious  as  to  exactly  where  we  were,  and  dreading 
lest  we  should  come  suddenly  upon  some  picket-station,  and 
thus  lose  a  chance  of  making  a  proper  diplomatic  approach, 
the  negro  and  I  pursued  our  way  for  several  hours  during  the 
damp  and  dismal  gray  morning  twilight. 

APPROACHING  THE  FEDERAL  LINES. 

Not  having  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  my  guide,  I 
took  care  to  keep  him  in  front  of  me  all  the  time,  and  had  my 
hand  constantly  upon  the  pistol  which  General  Ferguson  had 
given  me,  and  which  I  was  resolved  to  use  upon  my  colored 
companion  in  case  he  should  be  inclined  to  act  treacherously. 
Fortunately  there  was  no  occasion  for  any  violence,  and  our 
journey  continued  without  interruption,  except  such  as  was 
caused  by  the  rough  nature  of  the  ground,  until,  at  length,  I 
spied  through  the  trees  a  little  church.  It  was  now  broad 
daylight,  although  the  sun  was  not  yet  up,  and  the  surround 
ings  of  this  building,  as  it  was  seen  through  the  fog-laden 


PREPARING  TO  MEET  THE  ENEMY.  355 

atmosphere,  were  dismal  enough.  I  surmised,  from  what  my 
guide  had  told  me  before  we  started  out,  that  the  Federal 
pickets  must  be  somewhere  near,  and  I  concluded  that  it  was 
time  for  me  to  get  rid  of  the  darkey ;  so  I  said  to  him,  "  Isn't 
that  the  church  where  you  said  you  saw  the  Yankee 
soldiers  ?  " 

"  Yes,  miss,  dat's  de  place ;  dey's  jes'  beyond  dat  church  a 
bit,  or  dey  was  las'  week." 

"  Well,  I  want  to  find  them ;  but  I  guess,  if  you  don't  want 
them  to  catch  you,  you'd  better  get  back  as  quick  as  you  can." 

"  0  Lord,  miss,  I  doesn't  want  dem  to  catch  me,  sure." 

"  Well,  then,  you  will  have  to  travel  off  as  fast  as  you  are 
able ;  if  you  don't,  they  will  have  you,  and  will  run  you  off, 
and  give  you  to  the  abolitionists." 

I  said  this  in  a  very  severe  way,  and  it  evidently  made  an 
impression  on  the  darkey,  who  probably  thought  the  abolition 
ists  were  cannibals,  who  would  proceed  to  use  him  as  a  sub 
stitute  for  beef.  He  opened  his  eyes  as  big  as  saucers,  and 
his  teeth  chattered  so  that  he  could  scarcely  say,  "  Good-by, 
miss,"  as  he  darted  off,  clutching  the  ten-dollar  Confederate 
bill  that  I  had  handed  him  in  payment  for  his  services. 

Watching  the  old  negro  until  he  was  out  of  sight,  I  rode  up 
to  the  church,  and  dismounting,  entered  the  building.  My 
first  care  now  was  to  get  rid  of  my  pistol,  as  I  thought  it 
would  most  probably  be  taken  from  me  if  the  Federals  found 
that  I  had  it ;  and  the  discovery  of  it,  secreted  upon  my  per 
son,  would  be  not  unlikely  to  cause  me  to  be  suspected  of 
being  a  spy,  which,  of  course,  was  the  very  thing  I  was  most 
anxious  to  avoid.  Raising  a  plank  in  the  flooring,  I  put  the 
pistol  under  it,  and  covered  it  well  with  dirt.  My  intention 
was  to  return  this  way,  and  I  expected  to  get  the  weapon, 
and  give  it  back  to  General  Ferguson.  Circumstances,  how 
ever,  induced  me  to  change  my  plans  j  and  as  I  have  never 
visited  the  spot  since,  if  the  church  is  still  standing,  the  pistol 
is  probably  where  I  placed  it,  for  I  buried  it  tolerably  deep, 
and  smoothed  the  dirt  well  over  it,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
likely  to  be  discovered  except  by  accident. 

As  I  stated  before,  my  disguise,  as  I  had  arranged  it  with 
Lieutenant  Shorter,  was  that  of  a  poor  countrywoman,  and 
the  story  I  was  to  tell  was,  that  I  was  a  widow,  and  was  flying 
for  protection  to  the  Federal  lines.  Having  disposed  of  the 
pistol,  I  sat  down  for  a  few  minutes  to  think  over  the  situa 
tion,  and  to  decide  upon  the  best  method  of  procedure  with 


356  ARRIVAL   AT   A   FEDERAL    OUTPOST. 

the  first  Federal  soldier  I  met.  Experience  had  taught  me, 
however,  that  no  settled  plan,  in  a  matter  of  this  kind, 
amounts  to  much,  so  far  as  the  details  are  concerned,  and  that 
it  is  necessary  to  be  governed  by  circumstances.  I  resolved, 
therefore,  to  regulate  my  conduct  and  conversation  according 
to  the  character  and  behavior  of  those  I  chanced  to  meet  j 
and  so,  having  first  ascertained  that  my  papers  were  all  right, 
I  mounted  my  pony  again,  and  started  in  the  direction  where 
I  supposed  I  would  find  the  Federal  camp. 

MEETING  A  FEDERAL  PICKET. 

Letting  my  pony  take  his  own  gait  —  and  he  was  not  in 
clined  to  make  his  pace  any  more  rapid  than  there  was  neces 
sity  for  —  I  travelled  for  a  couple  of  miles  before  I  saw  any 
one.  At  length  a  picket,  who  had  evidently  been  watching 
me  for  some  time,  stepped  out  of  the  woods  into  the  road, 
and  when  I  came  up  to  him,  he  halted  me,  and  asked  where 
I  was  from,  and  where  I  was  going. 

"  Good  morning,  sir/'  I  said,  in  an  innocent,  unsophisticated 
sort  of  way.  "  Are  you  commanding  this  outpost  ?  " 

"  No,"  he  replied ;  "  what  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,  I  wish  you  would  tell  the  captain  I  want  to  see 
him." 

"  What  do  you  want  with  the  captain  ?  " 

"  I  have  got  a  message  to  give  the  captain,  but  I  can't  give 
it  to  any  one  else." 

"  He  is  over  there  in  the  woods." 

"  Well,  you  just  tell  him  that  I  want  to  see  him  quick,  about 
something  very  important." 

The  soldier  then  called  to  his  officer,  and  in  a  few  moments 
up  stepped  a  good-looking  young  lieutenant,  whose  blouse 
was  badly  out  at  the  elbows,  and  whose  clothing  generally 
bore  marks  of  very  hard  service.  Although  his  attire  was 
not  of  the  most  elegant  description,  he  was  a  gentleman,  and, 
as  he  approached  me,  he  tipped  his  hat,  and  said,  with  a 
pleasant  smile.  "  Good  morning,  madam ;  what  is  it  you 
wish?" 

"  Are  you  the  captain  ?  "  I  queried. 

"  I  am  in  command  of  this  picket  guard,"  he  replied. 

"Well,  captain,"  said  I,  "I  want  to  go  to  Memphis,  to  see 
General  Washburn.  I  have  some  papers  here  for  him." 

This  made  him  start  a  little,  and  he  began  to  suspect  that 


JAMES  LONGSTREET. 


JUBAL  EARLY. 


TIIOMAS  J.  (STONEWALL)  JACKSON. 


ROBERT  E.«  LEE. 


SUSPECTED    OP   BEING    A   SPY.  357 

he  had  a  matter  of  serious  business  on  hand,  and,  evidently 
with  a  different  interest  in  me  from  what  he  had  felt  before, 
he  inquired,  with  a  rather  severe  and  serious  air,  "  Where  are 
you  from,  madam  ?  " 

"  I  am  from  Holly  Springs.  A  man  there  gave  me  these 
papers,  and  told  me  that  if  I  would  get  them  through  he 
would  pay  me  a  hundred  dollars." 

"  What  kind  of  looking  man  was  he,  and  where  did  he  go 
after  he  left  you  ?  " 

"  I  mustn't  tell  you  that,  sir  ;  the  man  said  not  to  tell  any 
thing  about  him,  except  to  the  one  these  papers  are  for,  and 
he  would  understand  all  about  it." 

"  Well,  madam,  you  will  have  to  go  with  me  to  headquar 
ters.  When  we  get  there  I  will  see  what  can  be  done  for 
you." 

His  relief  came,  not  a  great  while  after,  and  off  we  started 
for  headquarters.  As  I  had  informed  my  new-made  friend 
that  I  was  hungry,  having  ridden  for  a  considerable  distance 
since  very  early  in  the  morning,  he  stopped  with  me  at  a 
white  house  near  the  road,  and  sending  the  guard  on,  went 
in  with  me,  and  asked  the  woman,  who  appeared  to  be  mis 
tress  of  the  establishment,  to  give  me  some  breakfast.  Quite 
a  comfortable  meal  was  soon  in  readiness,  and  while  I  was 
eating,  the  lieutenant  busied  himself  in  trying  to  ascertain 
something  about  the  number  and  position  of  the  Confederate 
troops.  I  told  him  that  there  seemed  to  be  a  large  force  of 
them  near  Holly  Springs,  but  beyond  that  statement,  —  which 
was,  I  believe,  far  from  being  the  truth,  —  I  atn  afraid  he  did 
not  find  me  a  very  satisfactory  witness.  I  am  sure  that  such 
information  as  I  did  give  him  was  not  likely  to  be  of  very 
great  use. 

UNPLEASANT  ATTENTIONS  FROM  THE  SOLDIERS. 

After  I  had  finished  my  breakfast,  the  lieutenant  took  me 
to  Moscow,  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  and 
here,  for  the  first  time,  I  was  subjected  to  very  serious  annoy 
ance,  and  first  began  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  I  was  en 
gaged  in  a  particularly  risky  undertaking.  The  soldiers, 
seeing  me  coming  into  the  town  mounted  on  a  ragged  little 
pony,  and  under  the  escort  of  an  officer,  jumped  at  the  con 
clusion  that  I  was  a  spy,  and  commenced  to  gather  round  me 
in  crowds. 


358  A    PLAUSIBLE   STORY. 

"  Who  is  she  ?  "  some  one  asked. 

"  O,  she's  a  spy  that  the  Illinois  picket  captured. " 

"  You're  gone  up ! "  yelled  some  fellow  in  the  crowd. 

"  Why  don't  they  hang  her  ?  "  was  the  pleasant  inquiry  of 
another. 

These  and  other  cheering  comments  greeted  me  on  all 
sides,  and  some  of  the  brutal  fellows  pushed  against  me,  and 
struck  my  pony,  and  otherwise  made  my  progress  through  the 
streets  exceedingly  unpleasant,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of 
the  lieutenant  to  protect  me. 

Finally  we  reached  the  building  occupied  by  the  colonel  in 
command,  and  I  was  ushered  by  that  official  into  a  private 
room,  in  the  rear  of  the  one  used  as  an  office.  The  lieutenant 
accompanied  me,  and  related  the  manner  of  my  coming  to  the 
picket  station,  and  the  story  which  I  had  told  him. 

UNDER  CROSS-EXAMINATION. 

The  colonel  then  proceeded  to  cross-question  me,  being 
apparently  desirous  of  finding  out  whether  I  was  possessed 
of  any  information  worth  his  knowing,  as  well  as  whether  I 
was  exactly  what  I  professed  to  be.  I  nattered  myself  that 
I  played  my  part  tolerably  well.  I  knew  very  little  about  the 
movements  of  the  Confederates,  or  their  number,  but)  under 
the  process  of  rigid  cross-questioning  to  which  I  was  sub 
jected,  I  said  just  enough  to  stimulate  curiosity,  pretending 
that  what  I  was  telling  was  what  I  had  picked  up  merely 
incidentally,  and  that,  as  I  took  no  interest  in  the  fighting 
that  was  going  on,  except  to  desire  to  get  as  far  away  from  it 
as  possible,  I  really  knew  scarcely  anything,  except  from 
rumor. 

As  for  myself,  I  stuck  close  to  one  simple  story.  I  was  a 
poor  widow  woman,  whose  husband  had  died  about  the  time 
of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war ;  I  was  for  the  Union,  and  had 
been  badly  treated  by  the  rebels,  who  had  robbed  me  of 
nearly  everything,  and  I  had  been  anxious  to  get  away  for 
some  time  with  a  little  money  I  had  collected,  and  had  finally 
got  tired  of  waiting  for  the  Federal  troops  to  come  down  my 
way,  and  had  resolved  to  try  and  get  through  the  lines  ;  that 
a  man  had  promised  I  should  be  paid  a  hundred  dollars  if  I 
would  carry  a  despatch  to  General  Washburn,  at  Memphis, 
and  had  assisted  me  to  get  off;  that  I  was  to  deliver  the 
papers  to  General  Washburn  only,  and  was  to  tell  him  alone 


AN  UNSUCCESSFUL    CROSS-EXAMINATION.  359 

certain  things  that  the  man  had  told  me ;  I  had  some  friends 
in  Ohio,  to  whom  I  was  anxious  to  go,  and  I  hoped  that  Gen 
eral  Washburn,  after  I  had  given  the  despatch  to  him,  would 
pay  me  the  hundred  dollars,  and  furnish  me  with  a  pass  to  go 
North. 

The  colonel  tried  to  make  me  vary  this  story,  and  he  sev 
eral  times  pretended  that  I  had  contradicted  myself.  He  was 
tolerably  smart  at  a  cross-examination,  but  not  by  any  means 
smart  enough  for  the  subject  he  had  to  deal  with  on  this 
occasion.  I  had  the  most  innocent  air  in  the  world  about  me, 
and  pretended,  half  the  time,  that  I  was  so  stupid  that  I 
could  not  understand  what  his  interrogatories  meant,  and, 
instead  of  answering  them,  would  go  off  into  a  long  story 
about  my  troubles,  and  the  hardships  I  had  suffered,  and  the 
bad  treatment  I  had  received.  The  colonel  then  tried  to 
induce  me  to  give  him  the  despatch,  saying  that  he  would 
pay  me  the  hundred  dollars,  and  would  forward  it  to  General 
Washburn.  This  I  refused  to  do,  as  I  had  promised  not  to 
let  anybody  but  the  general  have  it,  if  I  could  help  it. 
Neither  would  I  tell  who  it  was  that  had  intrusted  me  with 
the  despatch,  or  give  any  clew  to  the  message  for  the  general 
he  had  intrusted  me  to  deliver  by  word  of  mouth. 

In  fine,  the  colonel  was  practically  no  wiser  when  he  had 
finished  than  when  he  commenced,  and  so,  finding  that  no 
information  worth  talking  about  was  to  be  obtained  from  me, 
he  said,  "  Where  will  you  go,  if  I  give  you  a  pass  ?  "  at  the 
same  time  winking  at  the  lieutenant. 

"  I  want  to  go  to  Memphis,  sir,  to  give  this  paper  to  General 
Washburn,  and  I  hope  that  the  general  will  be  kind  enough 
to  send  me  on  to  Ohio." 

"  Have  you  any  money  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  have  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars." 

u  Confederate  money,  isn't  it?" 

"  No,  sir ;  it's  greenbacks.  I  wouldn't  have  that  rebel 
trash ;  it  isn't  worth  anything." 

"  Well,  madam,"  then  said  the  colonel,  "  you  will  remain 
here  until  the  train  is  ready  to  start,  and  I  will  see,  in  the 
mean  time,  what  I  can  do  for  you." 

The  colonel  then  went  out ;  but  the  lieutenant  remained, 
and  engaged  in  a  general  sort  of  a  conversation  with  me  for 
some  time.  About  noon,  he  suggested  that  perhaps  I  was 
hungry,  and  went  and  procured  me  something  to  eat.  The 
train  came  in  at  one  o'clock,  and  I  proceeded  to  the  depot 


360  IMPROVING  AN  ACQUAINTANCE. 

under  the  escort  of  the  two  officers ;  the  colonel,  in  response 
to  my  request  that  the  soldiers  should  not  annoy  me  as  they 
had  done  in  the  morning,  assuring  me  that  he  regretted  any 
thing  of  the  kind  had  happened,  and  promising  that  he  would 
see  that  I  was  protected  from  insult.  Whether  the  presence 
of  the  colonel  was  the  sole  cause  of  the  difference  in  their 
behavior  or  not,  I  cannot  say,  but  the  soldiers  kept  their  dis 
tance  as  we  were  going  to  the  depot,  and  only  stared  at  me. 
When  we  reached  the  depot,  the  colonel  procured  me  a  ticket, 
and  gave  me  five  dollars,  and  I  overheard  him  say,  in  an  un 
dertone,  to  the  lieutenant,  "  You  get  in  the  rear  car,  and  keep 
an  eye  on  her  movements.  I  think  that  she  is  all  right,  but  it 
would  be  just  as  well  to  watch  her." 

The  lieutenant  said,  "  0,  there's  no  doubt  in  my  mind  but 
she  is  all  right." 

Thfs  little  conversation  made  me  smile  to  myself,  and  served 
to  convince  me  that  I  would  have  no  trouble  in  getting  along 
nicely  with  my  friend  the  lieutenant. 

The  colonel  moved  off,  and  the  lieutenant  and  I  stepped 
aboard  the  train,  a  half  dozen  soldiers  who  were  near  making 
such  comments  as,  "  She's  gone  up."  "  I  guess  she'll  hang.'7 
"  Hanging's  too  good  for  a  spy."  I  took  no  notice  of  them, 
however,  but  seated  myself  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  car 
from  where  they  were  standing.  The  lieutenant  was  over 
whelmingly  polite,  and  after  having  got  me  fixed  comfortably 
in  my  seat,  he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  I  may  go  up  with  you  as 
far  as  my  camp,  if  I  can  get  any  one  to  hold  my  horse." 

I  thought  that  this  would  be  a  good  chance  to  improve  my 
acquaintance  with  him,  and  perhaps  do  something  for  the  fur 
therance  of  my  plans  ;  so  I  said,  "  0,  I  would  be  so  glad  if 
you  would.  I  would  so  much  like  to  have  company."  And  I 
smiled  on  him  as  sweetly  as  I  was  able,  to  impress  him  with 
the  idea  that  I  profoundly  appreciated  his  courtesy.  The 
young  fellow  was  evidently  more  than  half  convinced  that  he 
had  made  a  conquest,  while  I  was  quite  sure  that  I  had.  If 
he  had  known  what  my  real  feelings  were,  and  with  what 
entire  willingness  I  would  have  made  a  prisoner  of  him,  could 
I  have  got  him  into  the  Confederate  lines,  perhaps  he  would 
not  have  been  quite  so  eager  for  my  society. 

When  the  lieutenant  left,  the  soldiers  began  to  crowd  about 
the  windows  of  the  car,  for  the  purpose  of  staring  at  me,  and 
using  towards  me  the  same  kind  of  abusive  language  as  that 
which  I  have  already  quoted.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 


INSULTS   FROM   THE   SOLDIERS.  361 

there  must  be  rather  lax  discipline  when  a  woman,  ^jtuated  as  I 
was,  who  was  especially  under  the  protection  of  the  officers  of 
the  command,  and  whom  the  colonel  had  given  orders  should 
not  be  insulted  in  any  way,  could  be  subjected  to  such  continued 
ill  usage  as  this.  I  was  the  more  indignant,  as  there  were 
several  officers  standing  by,  who  took  no  notice  of  the  behavior 
of  the  men,  and  made  no  effort  whatever  to  prevent  them 
from  indulging  in  what,  under  any  circumstances,  was  a  mean 
and  cowardly  pastime.  At  length,  provoked  beyond  measure, 
I  called  to  an  officer  near,  who  wore  a  major's  uniform,  and 
said  to  him,  "I  would  thank  you,  sir,  to  do  something  to  stop 
the  men  from  insulting  me.  I  am  travelling  under  a  pass 
from  the  colonel,  and  he  promised  that  I  should  not  be  an 
noyed  in  this  manner." 

The  major  very  promptly  came  forward,  and  pushing  some 
of  the  soldiers  away  from  the  windows,  said,  "  Men,  keep 
quiet,  and  do  not  insult  this  lady.  She  is  on  our  side  ;  she  is 
Union."  And  then,  turning  to  me,  he  remarked,  "  0,  you 
mustn't  mind  them.  You  see,  they  have  got  it  into  their 
heads  that  you  are  a  spy.  They  won't  trouble  you  any 
more." 

It  struck  me,  as  the  major  was  making  this  little  speech, 
that  the  soldiers  were  wiser  than  some  of  their  officers,  al 
though  I  did  not  feel  any  more  amiable  towards  them  on 
that  account.  I,  however,  thanked  the  major  for  his  prompt 
ness  in  coming  to  my  protection,  and  we  passed  a  few  words, 
the  idea  entering  my  head  that  if  I  could  fall  into  a  conversa 
tion  with  him  I  might  be  able  to  beguile  him  into  giving  me 
some  points  of  information  worth  having.  Before,  however, 
we  had  an  opportunity  to  do  more  than  exchange  the  ordinary 
civilities  of  the  day,  the  train  began  to  move,  and  I  was  un 
able  to  improve  my  acquaintance  with  him. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

SENDING  INFORMATION  TO  THE  CONFEDERATES  FROM 

MEMPHIS. 

My  Friend,  the  Lieutenant,  concludes  that  he  will  make  himself  better  ac 
quainted  with  me.  —  Indiscreet  Confidences.  —  Some  of  the  Traits  of 
human  Nature. —  The  Kind  of  Secrets  Women  can  keep.  —  Women 
better  than  Men  for  certain  Kinds  of  Secret  Service  Duty.  —  The  Lieu 
tenant  wants  to  know  all  about  me.  —  I  suspect  that  he  has  matrimonial 
Inclinations.  —  He  is  anxious  to  discover  whether  I  have  any  wealthy 
Relations.  —  I  am  induced  to  think  that  I  can  make  him  useful  in  obtain 
ing  Information  with  Regard  to  the  Federal  Movements.  —  The  Lieuten 
ant  expresses  his  Opinion  about  the  War.  —  Arrival  at  Memphis. — 
Visit  to  the  Provost  Marshal's  Office.  —  General  Washburn  too  ill  to  see 
me.  —  I  enclose  him  the  bogus  Despatch  I  have  for  him  with  an  explan 
atory  Note.  —  The  Lieutenant  escorts  me  to  the  Hardwick  House,  and 
I  request  him  to  call  in  the  Morning.  —  Procuring  a  Change  of  Dress 
through  One  of  the  Servants,  I  slip  out,  and  have  an  Interview  with  my 
Confederate,  and  give  him  the  Despatch  for  General  Forrest.  —  On 
returning  to  the  Hotel,  I  meet  the  Lieutenant  on  the  Street,  but  manage 
to  pass  him  without  being  observed.  —  Satisfactory  Accomplishment  of 
my  Errand. 

CONCLUDED  that  my  friend,  the  lieutenant,  had 
deserted  me,  for  which  I  was  inclined  to  be  sorry ; 
for  he  was  apparently  an  agreeable  enough  young 
fellow,  and  I  was  rather  anxious  than  otherwise  to 
have  his  company  as  far  as  Memphis.  If  any 
doubts  as  to  my  being  "  all  right,"  as  the  colonel 
had  expressed  it,  still  lingered  in  his  mind,  I  thought 
that  I  would  not  only  be  able  to  remove  them  before 
our  journey's  end,  but  that  I  might  be  able  so  to  insin 
uate  myself  into  his  confidence  that  I  could  learn 
something  from  him.  I  also  wished  him  to  go  to  Mem 
phis  with  me,  for  I  felt  that  if  I  put  in  an  appearance  there, 
under  the  escort  of  a  Federal  officer  who  would  vouch  for  me, 
my  status  with  the  people  at  headquarters  would  be  more  sat 
isfactory  than  if  I  went  alone.  In  performing  spy  duty,  there 
is  nothing  like  having  a  friend  at  headquarters  to  introduce 

362 


WOMEN   AS   SECRET-KEEPERS.  363 

you,  and  to  certify  to  your  intentions  being  such  as  would  meet 
with  approbation. 

As  matters  turned  out,  the  lieutenant  not  only  did  accom 
pany  me,  but  he  let  out  many  things  that  he  ought  to  have 
kept  quiet  about,  knowing,  as  he  did,  the  manner  in  which  I 
had  come  into  the  lines,  and  having  no  assurance  whatever 
beyond  my  bare  word  that  I  was  not  a  spy.  To  be  sure,  the 
information  I  obtained  from  him  with  regard  to  the  main  object 
of  my  errand  was  not  very  momentous,  for  I  was  afraid  to  say 
too  much  on  points  relating  to  my  errand ;  but  I,  without  any 
difficulty,  learned  enough  to  enable  me  to  know  exactly  how 
to  go  to  work  to  find  out  a  great  deal  more.  Besides  this,  he 
was  really  of  much  assistance  to  me  in  other  ways,  and  saved 
me  considerable  trouble  at  headquarters  —  for  all  of  which  I 
hope  I  was  duly  thankful. 

ABOUT  KEEPING  SECRETS. 

It  may  be  thought  that  an  officer  of  the  experience  of  this 
one  —  he  had  been  through  the  war  from  the  beginning  — 
would  have  understood  his  business  sufficiently  by  this  time 
to  have  known  how  to  hold  his  tongue  concerning  matters  that 
it  was  desirable  the  enemy  should  not  become  informed  of, 
when  in  the  society  of  a  person  whom  he  well  knew  might  be 
a  spy.  If  all  the  officers  and  men  in  an  army,  however,  were 
endowed  with,  not  wisdom  only,  but  plain  common  sense,  the 
business  of  the  secret  service  agents  would  be  a  very  much 
more  difficult  and  hazardous  one  than  it  really  is.  The  young 
fellow  was  only  a  lieutenant,  with  no  great  responsibilities, 
while  some  of  my  most  brilliant  successes  in  the  way  of  ob 
taining  information  have  been  with  generals,  and  even  with 
their  superiors,  as  the  reader  will  discover,  if  he  feels  suffi 
cient  interest  in  my  story  to  follow  it  to  the  end. 

The  fact  is,  that  human  nature  is  greatly  given  to  confi 
dence  ;  so  much  so,  that  the  most  unconfiding  and  suspicious 
people  are  usually  the  easiest  to  extract  any  desired  informa 
tion  from,  provided  you  go  the  right  way  about  it.  This  may 
seem  to  be  a  paradox ;  but  it  is  not :  it  is  merely  a  statement 
of  a  peculiar  trait  of  .human  nature.  Women  have  the  repu 
tation  of  being  bad  secret-keepers.  Well,  that  depends  on 
circumstances.  I  have  always  succeeded  in  keeping  mine, 
when  I  have  had  any  worth  keeping ;  and  I  have  always  found 
it  more  difficult  to  beguile  women  than  men  into  telling  me 


364  MAKING  HIMSELF  AGREEABLE. 

what  I  have  wanted  to  know,  when  they  had  the  slightest 
reason  to  suspect  that  I  was  not  a  suitable  recipient  of  their 
confidence.  The  truth  seems  to  be,  that  while  women  find  it 
often  troublesome,  and  well  nigh  impossible,  to  keep  little 
and  inconsequential  secrets,  they  are  first-rate  hands  at  keep 
ing  great  ones. 

For  certain  kinds  of  secret  service  work  women  are,  out  of 
all  comparison,  superior  to  men.  This,  I  believe,  is  acknowl 
edged  by  all  detectives  and  others  who  have  been  compelled 
to  employ  secret  agents.  One  reason  for  this  is,  that  women, 
when  they  undertake  a  secret  service  job,  are  really  quicker 
witted  and  more  wide  awake  than  men;  they  more  easily 
deceive  other  people,  and  are  less  easily  imposed  upon.  Of 
course  there  is  a  great  deal  of  secret  service  work  for  which 
women  are  not  well  fitted,  and  much  that  it  is  scarcely  possi 
ble  for  them  to  perform  at  all ;  but,  as  a  rule,  for  an  enterprise 
that  requires  real  finesse,  a  woman  will  be  likely  to  accomplish 
far  more  than  a  man. 

I  was  just  thinking  that  my  lieutenant  had  deserted  me,  or 
that  he  was  in  another  car  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  an  eye 
on  me  unobserved,  when  he  appeared  beside  me,  having 
jumped  on  the  rear  end  of  the  car  as  it  was  starting. 

He  said,  "  You  have  no  objections  to  my  occupying  the  same 
seat  with  you,  have  you,  madam  ?" 

"  0,  no,  sir ! "  I  replied ;  "  I  shall  be  exceedingly  glad  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  your  society,  so  far  as  you  are  going." 

"  Well,  I  only  intend  going  up  to  my  camp  now,  but  1  have 
half  a  mind  to  run  on  as  far  as  Memphis  —  that  is,  if  my  com 
pany  will  not  be  disagreeable  to  you." 

"  I  will  be  very  greatly  pleased  if  you  will  go  through  with 
me.  It  has  been  a  long  time  since  I  have  met  any  agreeable 
gentlemen,  and  I  particularly  admire  officers." 

As  I  said  this  I  gave  him  a  killing  glance,  and  then  dropped 
my  eyes  as  if  Mdf  ashamed  of  having  made  such  a  bold  ad 
vance  to  him.  The  bait  took,  however,  as  I  expected  it 
would ;  and  the  lieutenant,  giving  his  mustache  a  twist,  and 
running  his  hand  through  his  hair,  settled  himself  down  in  the 
seat  with  a  most  self-satisfied  air,  evidently  supposing  that  the 
conquest  of  my  heart  was  more  than  half  completed,  and  be 
gan  to  make  himself  as  agreeable  as  he  knew  how.  Finesse 
was  certainly  not  this  youth's  most  marked  characteristic,  and 
he  went  about  making  himself  agreeable,  and  endeavoring  to 
discover  who  I  was,  where  I  came  from,  and  all  about  me,  in 


MAKING   AN   IMPRESSION.  365 

such  an  awkward,  lubberly  manner,  that  it  was  mere  play  for 
me  to  impose  upon  him. 

MATTERS  MATRIMONIAL  AND  OTHERWISE. 

He  had  not  been  seated  more  than  a  minute  or  two  before 
he  blurted  out,  "  I  guess  you're  married  —  ain't  you?" 

"  No,  sir ;  I'm  a  widow." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  Well,  now,  about  how  long  has  the  old  man 
been  dead  ?  " 

"  My  husband  died  shortly  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war.  I  have  been  a  widow  nearly  three  years." 

"  Well,  that's  a  pretty  good  while  to  be  a  widow ;  but  I 
reckon  men  are  scarce  down  your  way.  Got  any  children  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  unfortunately  I  have  no  children." 

"  Well,  that's  lucky,  anyhow." 

I  did  not  exactly  understand  whether  he  meant  that  it  was 
lucky  for  me,  or  for  him,  in  case  he  made  up  his  mind  to  marry 
me.  I,  however,  thought  it  a  good  occasion  for  a  little  senti 
ment,  and  so,  giving  a  sigh,  said,  "  Children  are  a  great  com 
fort,  sometimes." 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  said  he ;  "  especially  when  they  are 
your  own.  I  don't  care  much  for  other  people's  children, 
though." 

"  Are  you  married,  sir  ? "  I  suggested,  in  a  rather  timid 
tone,  and  giving  him  another  killing  glance. 

"  Not  much,"  he  replied,  with  considerable  force ;  "  but  I 
wouldn't  mind  being,  if  I  could  find  a  real  nice  woman  who 
would  have  me."  And  with  this  he  gave  me  a  tender  look 
that  was  very  touching. 

"  0,  there  ought  to  be  plenty  of  women  who  would  gladly 
have  a  fine,  handsome  officer  like  you." 

"Do  you  think  so,  now,  really?  Well,  I'll  have  to  look 
round.  By  the  way,  where  do  you  come  from  ?  Do  you  be 
long  down  South  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  I  replied;  "  I  am  a  foreigner  by  birth,  but  my 
husband  was  an  American,  and  lived  in  Ohio  until  shortly  be 
fore  the  war." 

"  Is  that  so,  now  ?     You're  English  —  ain't  you  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  my  parents  were  French  and  Spanish." 

"I  guess  you  must  speak  those  languages,  then?" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  much  better  than  English." 

"Well,  said  he,  "  I'm  mighty  glad  I  met  you." 


366  -  BECOMING   INTERESTED. 

"  Thank  you,  sir.     I  may  say  the  same  to  you." 

He  then  remarked,  "  I  don't  believe  you'll  have  any  difficulty 
in  getting  through  to  Memphis,  or  any  trouble  after  you  reach 
there.  I  will  be  glad  to  assist  you  any  way  I  can." 

I  thanked  him  for  his  kind  intentions ;  and  he  then,  in  a  hes 
itating  sort  of  a  way,  said,  "  I  hope  you  won't  feel  offended  if  I 
inquire  how  your  finances  are." 

"  0,  no,  sir ;  no  offence  at  all.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  my 
funds  are  rather  low." 

"  Well,  I'll  see  you  fixed  all  right  until  you  can  hear 
from  your  friends.  How  long  do  you  expect  to  remain  in 
Memphis  ?  " 

"  No  longer  than  I  can  possibly  help  ;  for  I  want  to  get  back 
to  Europe,  where  I  have  friends  who  will  take  care  of  me,  at 
the  earliest  opportunity." 

"  I'm  mighty  sorry  you  are  going  to  make  such  a  short  stay. 
I  was  hoping  that  we  might  become  better  acquainted.  It 
isn't  often  that  we  meet  with  real  ladies  in  these  parts." 

AN  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

He  then  proceeded  to  inquire  who  my  relatives  in  Europe 
were,  where  they  lived,  whether  they  were  wealthy  or  not,  — 
he  seemed  to  be  especially  anxious  on  this  point,  —  how  old  I 
was,  whether  I  had  ever  thought  much  about  getting  married 
again,  and  so  forth.  I  answered  his  queries  as  promptly  as  he 
could  have  wished,  and  perhaps  more  to  his  satisfaction  than 
if  I  had  told  him  the  exact  truth  in  every  instance. 

At  length  the  whistle  blew,  and  the  train  stopped  at  his 
camp.  He  jumped  up,  and  rushed  out,  without  even  saying 
good-by;  and  while  I  was  wondering  where  he  had  left  his 
politeness,  I  saw  him  running  as  fast  as  he  could  go,  and  pres 
ently  dodge  into  a  tent.  In  a  moment  or  two  more  out  he 
came  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  and  ran  for  the  train,  with  his  coat 
in  his  hand,  and  jumped  on  board  just  as  we  were  starting.  I 
turned  around,  and  watched  him  as  he  got  into  the  car  behind 
me,  and  saw  him  put  on  a  rather  better  looking  uniform  coat 
than  the  out-at-the-elbows  blouse  he  had  been  wearing,  and  a 
paper  collar  and  black  necktie.  These  last  I  considered  as 
particularly  delicate  attentions  to  myself. 

When  he  had  completed  his  toilet,  he  came  forward,  and, 
seating  himself  beside  me,  said,  "  I  will  allow  myself  the 
pleasure  of  going  through  to  Memphis  with  you." 


SOCIABILITY.  367 

I  assured  him  that  I  was  pleased  beyond  measure,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  my  fault  if  long  before  we 
reached  Memphis  I  did  not  stand  so  well  in  his  good  graces 
that  I  would  be  able  to  make  a  most  useful  ally  of  him  in  car 
rying  out  my  plans  for  the  benefit  of  the  Confederacy. 

"  Do  you  see  that  field  over  there  ?  "  said  he,  pointing  to  a 
good  sized  clearing.  "  That's  where  our  boys  had  a  fight 
with  Forrest." 

"  Did  you  run  fast?  "  I  asked,  rather  maliciously. 

"  We  had  to  run,"  said  he  ;  "  they  were  too  many  for  us." 

"  0,  what  a  pity,"  said  I ;  "  you  ought  to  have  whipped 
them;"  and  thought,  at  the  same  time,  that  there  would  be 
some  more  hard  running  done  if  I  ever  succeeded  in  getting 
to  Forrest  the  despatch  I  had  for  him. 

"We'll  whip  them  yet,"  said  the  lieutenant.  "  We've  had 
some  big  successes  lately  in  Virginia,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas, 
and  we'd  treat  them  worse  than  we  do  here  if  we  only  had  a 
few  more  men." 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "  there  seems  to  be  a  great  many  of  you." 

IMPORTANT  INFORMATION. 

"  0,  there's  not  half  enough  to  do  anything.  They've  got 
us  scattered  along  this  railroad  in  such  a  way  that  it's  almost 
as  much  as  we  can  do  to  hold  our  own,  when  any  kind  of  a 
crowd  of  rebs  puts  in  an  appearance.7' 

This  was  interesting ;  but  I  did  not  think  it  prudent  just 
then  to  question  him  any  closer  on  such  a  delicate  subject, 
trusting  that  before  we  parted  he  would  let  out,  of  his  own 
accord,  some  other  facts  worth  knowing;  so  1  merely  said, 
"  0,  this  war  is  a  terrible  thing.  It  makes  me  sick  to  think  of 
so  many  being  killed  and  wounded." 

"  That's  so,"  he  replied.  "  It  is  bad,  but  now  we've  begun 
it,  I  guess  we'll  have  to  fight  it  out." 

"  What  do  you  think  they  will  do  with  that  miserable  fellow, 
Davis,  if  they  catch  him  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Well,  I'm  for  hanging  Jeff,  and  all  his  cabinet.  We'll  just 
string  up  the  leaders,  and  let  the  little  people  go,  if  they  will 
promise  to  behave  themselves." 

This  made  my  blood  boil ;  but  I  controlled  my  feelings,  and 
remarked,  "  0,  I  don't  believe  they  will  hang  him.  They've 
got  to  catch  him  first,  you  know ;  and  then  the  government  at 
Washington  is  disposed  to  be  lenient,  isn't  it?" 


368  A   VALUABLE   FRIEND. 

"  Yes,  that's  just  what's  the  matter.  Between  the  milk-and- 
water  policy  of  the  government,  and  the  speculators  who  have 
been  allowed  to  do  pretty  much  as  they  please,  it  has  been 
hard  work  carrying  on  the  war  at  all.  We  western  men  have 
done  nearly  all  the  hardest  fighting,  and  we've  got  the  least 
credit  for  it.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  if  I  had  known  that 
it  was  the  niggers  we  were  going  to  fight  for,  I  never  would 
have  raised  my  sword." 

"  0,  you  don't  believe  in  slavery,  do  you  ?  "  said  I,  with  the 
view  of  increasing  his  confidence  in  me. 

"  No,"  said  he  ;  "  but  the  niggers  are  better  off  where  they 
are,  and  are  not  worth  fighting  lor,  anyhow." 

I  tried  to  draw  him  out  on  this  subject,  but  for  some  reason 
he  did  not  seem  inclined  to  talk  about  it  any  more ;  and  he 
branched  off  into  anecdotes  of  army  life,  the  fights  he  had 
been  engaged  in,  and  a  variety  of  matters  that  were  enter 
taining  enough,  but  do  not  merit  being  placed  on  record.  This 
conversation  amused  me,  and  gave  me  a  good  number  of 
points  worth  knowing  in  the  particular  business  in  which  I 
was  engaged,  until  at  length  the  train  reached  Memphis,  and 
my  escort  assisting  me  to  alight,  requested  me  to  wait  on  the 
platform  for  him  while  he  engaged  a  carriage. 

In  a  few  moments  he  returned  with  a  close-bodied  carriage, 
and  when  I  was  seated  in  it  he  ordered  the  driver  to  go  to  the 
Hardwick  House. 

"  0,  no,"  said  I ;  "  I  must  go  to  General  Washburn's  head 
quarters  first,  and  deliver  my  despatch  and  message." 

"  Just  as  you  like,"  said  he  ;  "but  I  thought  that  you  might 
prefer  to  arrange  your  toilet  before  seeing  the  general." 

"  No,"  I  replied ;  "  I  must  see  him  immediately,  as  I  was 
told  that  "this  was  a  matter  of  great  importance.  The  general 
won't  mind  my  looks." 

A  QUEER  WAY   OF  DOING   BUSINESS. 

The  driver  was  accordingly  directed  to  take  us  to  head 
quarters,  and  before  many  more  minutes  I  was  ushered  into 
the  presence  of  the  provost  marshal,  to  whom  I  stated  my 
errand.  The  fact  of  the  lieutenant  being  with  me  undoubt 
edly  prevented  a  great  many  questions  being  asked,  some  of 
which  it  might  not  have  been  agreeable,  or  even  possible,  for 
me  to  answer,  and  I  accordingly  was  more  than  ever  impressed 
with  the  value  of  having  him  for  an  acquaintance,  especially 


THE  DESPATCH  DELIVERED.  369 

as  he  put  in  a  word  now  and  then  which  had  the  effect  of 
establishing  me  on  a  satisfactory  footing  with  the  provost 
marshal.  That  official,  when  he  had  heard  my  story,  said, 
"  Madam,  I  am  sorry,  but  the  general  is  very  much  indisposed, 
and  cannot  see  you.  I  will  be  glad  to  receive  anything  you 
may  have  for  him,  and  to  give  him  any  message  from  you." 

"  0,  sir,  I  must  see  him.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  com 
municate  what  I  have  to  say  to  any  one  else." 

"  Did  the  person  who  confided  the  paper  to  you  give  you 
any  private  instructions  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  he  was  very  particular  in  telling  me  to  com 
municate  with  the  general  in  person,  and  with  no  one  else." 

"  Well,  madam,  I  am  sorry  for  you ;  but,  as  I  said  before, 
the  general  is  unable  to  see  you,  and  you  will  either  have  to 
leave  the  paper  and  your  message  with  me,  or  else  call  again." 

This  struck  me  as  being  a  decidedly  odd  way  of  doing 
business.  Here  I  was  professing  to  be  a  despatch-bearer, 
with  a  confidential  message  from  a  spy  within  the  enemy's 
lines,  and  the  probabilities  all  in  favor  of  my  business  being 
of  extreme  importance ;  and  yet,  the  officer  who  assumed  to 
represent  the  general  placidly  requesting  me  to  call  again, 
just  as  if  I  was  some  one  who  had  stepped  in  to  ask  a  favor 
of  him.  I  concluded  that  if  matters  were  managed  in  this 
kind  of  style  at  headquarters,  Memphis  would  not  be  a  very 
difficult  place  for  me  to  operate  in,  or  for  the  Confederates  to 
operate  against,  if  they  thought  it  worth  their  while.  I  knit 
my  brows,  looked  vexed  and  perplexed,  tapped  the  ground 
with  my  foot,  and  pretended  to  be  thinking  deeply  about  what 
course  I  had  better  pursue.  After  a  few  moments'  considera 
tion,  I  concluded  that  the  best  thing  I  could  do  was  to  get  the 
bogus  despatch  off  my  hands,  and  thus  be  free  to  attend  to 
other  business  of  more  importance  ;  so  I  said,  "  That  is  too 
bad,  for  I  promised  to  see  the  general  himself,  as  the  man  was 
so  particular  that  I  should ;  but  if  he  won't  see  me,  I  suppose 
I  will  have  to  write  to  him." 

The  provost  marshal  accordingly  furnished  me  with  a  sheet 
of  paper,  and  I  sat  down  at  his  desk  and  scribbled  off  a  brief 
note  to  the  general,  telling  him  enough  about  the  source  from 
which  I  had  obtained  the  despatch  to  induce  him  to  believe  in 
its  genuineness,  and  intimated  that  if  he  wanted  to  know  more 
he  could  send  for  me.  This  note  and  the  despatch  I  enclosed 
in  the  same  envelope,  and  handed  it  to  the  provost  marshal, 
with  a  request  that  it  might  be  given  to  the  general  immedi- 
24 


370  BOBROWED   GARMENTS. 

ately.  I  fully  expected  that  when  General  Washburn  received 
these  enclosures  he  would  have  me  brought  before  him  for  the 
purpose  of  interrogation,  and  was  much  surprised  when  he 
did  nothing  of  the  kind. 

The  provost  marshal  took  the  envelope  back  into  his  private 
office,  and  on  his  return  he  asked  me  where  I  was  going  to 
stop.  I  replied  that  I  did  not  know  yet ;  whereupon  he  sug 
gested  that  there  was  a  nice  private  boarding-house  near  the 
Catholic  church.  I  objected  to  going  there,  however,  and 
said  that  I  would  prefer  to  locate  myself  at  the  Hardwick  House 
for  the  present.  To  the  hotel  I  accordingly  went,  under  the 
escort  of  my  friend,  the  lieutenant,  and  registered  myself  as 
Mrs.  Fowler,  not  at  all  grieved  at  not  having  seen  the  general, 
and  quite  satisfied  not  to  see  him  in  the  future  if  he  did  not 
wish  to  see  me,  for  I  considered  the  material  part  of  my  errand 
now  practically  accomplished.  .  . 

The  lieutenant,  when  he  saw  me  fairly  established  in  com 
fortable  quarters,  asked  me  to  excuse  him,  saying  that,  as  I 
seemed  *  to  be  short  of  funds,  he  would  see  if  he  could  not 
obtain  some  for  me.  I  thanked  him  very  much,  made  all 
manner  of  apologies  for  giving  him  so  much  trouble,  and  as  a 
broad  hint  that  I  did  not  want  to  see  any  more  of  him  that 
day,  asked  him  to  call  in  the  morning,  as  I  was  feeling  quite 
sick,  was  tired  out  with  my  journey,  and  would  retire  to  rest 
after  getting  some  supper.  He  was  not  a  fool,  and  understood 
that  I  did  not  desire  his  company  ;  so,  taking  his  leave,  he  said 
that  he  would  give  orders  for  something  to  eat  to  be  brought 
up  to  my  room,  and  would  come  to  see  me  again  in  the  morn 
ing  if  I  would  permit  him. 

He  had  not  been  gone  a  great  while  before  a  servant  ap 
peared  with  a  very  nice  supper.  This  I  ate  with  immense 
relish,  for  I  was  desperately  hungry,  at  the  same  time  making 
certain  inquiries  of  the  servant  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  me 
to  judge  whether  it  would  be  safe  or  prudent  to  attempt  to 
communicate  that  night  with  the  spy  for  whom  I  had  the  de 
spatch  which  was  to  be  forwarded  to  Forrest.  It  was  now 
nearly  dark,  and  I  decided  that  no  better  time  for  meeting  the 
spy  could  be  found.  I  accordingly  asked  the  servant  to  try 
and  borrow  for  me  some  rather  more  presentable  articles 
of  attire  than  those  I  had  on,  as  I  desired  to  go  out  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  few  purchases,  and  was  really  ashamed  to 
go  into  the  streets  dressed  as  I  was.  My  real  reason  was  that 
I  was  afraid  the  lieutenant,  or  the  provost  marshal,  or  some 


MEETING   THE   SPY.  371 

one  who  had  seen  me,  should  happen  to  meet  me  while  I  was 
out,  and  as,  dressed  in  the  rather  outlandish  fashion  in  which 
I  had  appeared  at  the  picket  station,  they  would  not  fail  to 
recognize  me,  suspicions  might  be  excited  which  would  result 
in  spoiling  all  my  plans. 

The  servant,  whose  zeal  in  my  behalf  was  stimulated  by  a 
five- dollar  greenback,  was  not  long  in  appearing  with  a  rea 
sonably  decent-looking  dress,  bonnet,  and  shawl.  I  then  attired 
myself  with  as  much  speed  as  I  could  command,  and  after 
having  the  dust  and  dirt  brushed  off  my  shoes,  was  ready  to 
start. 

A  CONFERENCE  WITH  THE  SPY. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  was  well  acquainted 
with  Memphis,  and  consequently  knew  exactly  how  to  go  and 
where  to  go  in  search  of  my  man.  Fortunately  for  me,  the  place 
was  not  a  very  great  way  from  the  hotel,  and  persuading  the 
accommodating  servant  to  show  me  out  the  back  door,  under 
the  plea  that,  meanly  attired  as  I  was,  I  was  ashamed  to  be 
seen  by  the  officers  who  were  standing  about  the  front  of  the 
building,  I  was  not  long  in  reaching  it. 

I  knocked  at  the  door,  and  the  very  man  I  was  looking  for 
came  to  let  me  in.  I  had  never  seen  him  before,  but  I  knew 
him  immediately  by  the  description  I  had  of  him.  Giving  him 
the  password  I  was  admitted,  and  he  eagerly  inquired  what  I 
had  for  him.  I  handed  him  the  despatch  which  he  was  to 
convey  to  Forrest,  and  gave  him  the  verbal  instructions  which 
Lieutenant  Shorter  had  ordered  me  to  convey  to  him,  and 
urged  the  necessity  for  his  making  haste  in  reaching  Forrest 
at  the  earliest  practicable  moment.  He,  however,  said  that  he 
thought  that  a  movement  of  the  Federal  troops  was  in  con 
templation,  and  that  he  would  like  to  find  out  exactly  what  it 
was  before  starting,  and  as  I  seemed  to  be  on  good  terms  at 
headquarters,  he  urged  that  I  should  endeavor  to  obtain  the 
information  for  him.  I  consented  to  try  what  I  could  do, 
while  he  promised  not  to  delay  his  departure  longer  than  two 
days,  at  the  farthest. 

Before  parting,  I  represented  the  danger  to  both  if  we 
should  be  seen  in  conference,  and  said  that  I  would  prefer  not 
meeting  him  again  if  some  means  of  communicating  with  him ' 
without  a  personal  interview  could  be  devised.  He,  therefore, 
suggested  that  if  I  obtained  the  desired  information  I  should 
write  him  a  note  and  deposit  it  in  a  certain  place  which  he 


372  THE  ERRAND   ACCOMPLISHED. 

designated.  I  consented  to  this  and  took  my  departure, 
wishing  him  good  luck.  On  my  way  back  to  the  hotel,  the 
prudence  of  my  change  of  dress  was  sufficiently  demonstrated, 
for  on  turning  a  corner  I  nearly  ran  against  my  friend  the 
lieutenant  and  another  officer,  who  were  walking  slowly  along 
the  street.  My  heart  leaped  into  my  mouth  when  I  saw  who 
it  was,  but  as  there  was  no  retreat,  I  trusted  to  the  darkness 
and  my  change  of  costume,  and  glided  by  them  as  swiftly  and 
quietly  as  I  could,  and  fortunately  was  able  to  gain  my  room 
without  discovery. 

My  errand  was  now  accomplished,  and  in  as  satisfactory  a 
manner  as  could  be  desired,  and  the  only  apprehension  I  had 
was  lest  the  spy  to  whom  I  had  given  the  despatch  for  For 
rest  might  not  succeed  in  getting  off  in  safety.  If  he  should 
be  arrested  and  the  document  found  on  him,  the  finger  of  sus 
picion  would  not  unlikely  point  to  me  as  the  original  bearer 
of  it.  I  thought,  however,  that  he  was  probably  well  able  to 
take  care  of  himself,  and  being  too  much  of  a  veteran  to  allow 
myself  to  be  worried  about  possibilities  that  might  never 
come  to  pass,  I  went  to  bed  feeling  that  the  responsibility  of 
the  business  was  well  off  my  shoulders,  and  was  soon  in  happy 
obliviousness  of  cares  of  every  kind. 


£-  -J_ /€/-. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

FORREST'S    GREAT    RAID.— GOING    NORTH    ON    A    MIS 
SION    OF   MERCY. 

A  Friend  in  Need  is  a  Friend  indeed.  —  The  Lieutenant  aids  me  in  procur 
ing  a  new  Wardrobe.  —  I  succeed  in  finding  out  all  I  want  to  know 
about  the  Number  and  the  Disposition  of  the  Federal  Troops  on  the  Line 
of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad.  —  A  Movement  made  in 
Accordance  with  the  bogus  Despatch  which  I  had  brought  to  General 
Washburn.  —  Forrest  makes  his  Raid,  and  I  pretend  to  be  alarmed  lest 
the  Rebels  should  capture  me.  —  The  Lieutenant  continues  his  Atten 
tions,  and  something  occurs  to  induce  me  to  change  my  Plans. —  I 
have  an  Interview  with  an  Officer  of  my. Brother's  Command,  and  learn 
that  he  is  a  Prisoner.  —  I  resolve  to  go  to  him,  and  leave  for  the  North 
on  a  Pass  furnished  by  General  Washburn.  —  At  Louisville  I  have  an 
Interview  with  a  mysterious  secret  Agent  of  the  Confederacy,  who  sup 
plies  me  with  Funds.  —  On  reaching  Columbus,  Ohio,  I  obtain  a  Permit 
to  see  my  Brother.  —  Through  the  Agency  of  Governor  Brough  my 
Brother  is  released,  and  we  go  East  together,  —  he  to  New  York,  I  to 
Washington. 

.9* 

HE  next  morning  the  lieutenant  made  his 
appearance  bright  and  early;  and  said  that  he 
had  raised  a  hundred  dollars  for  me,  by  repre 
senting  me  as  a  Union  woman  who  was  flying 
from  persecution  in  the  Confederacy,  and  who 
had  brought  important  information  into  the  lines.  This 
money  I  regarded  as  lawful  spoils  of  war,  and  therefore 
had  no  hesitation  in  accepting  it.  Expressing  my  grati 
tude  to  my  friend  for  his  zeal  in  my  behalf,  I  said  that 
he  would  place  me  under  still  further  obligations  if  he 
would  aid  me  in  obtaining  some  better  clothing  than  that  I 
had  on.  He  expressed  the  greatest  desire  to  oblige  me,  and, 
taking  half  of  the  money,  he  invested  a  good  portion  of  it  in  a 
stylish  bonnet,  a  handsome  piece  of  dress  goods,  and  a  pair  of 
shoes.  He  also  presented  me  with  a  number  of  little  articles, 
which  I  was  given  to  understand  were  meant  for  testimonials 
of  his  individual  regard. 

373 


374  SUCCESS   OF  THE  PLOT. 

During  the  day  I  was  called  upon  by  several  officers  and 
others,  and  one  lady — an  officer's  wife — loaned  me  a  dress  to 
wear  until  mine  should  be  finished.  Taking  my  piece  of  goods 
to  the  dressmaker's,  I  stated  that  I  was  in  a  great  hurry,  and 
she  accordingly  promised  to  have  it  finished  by  the  next 
evening.  Thus  I  was  in  a  short  time  fitted  out  in  good  style, 
and  was  able  to  figure  to  as  great  an  extent  as  I  desired  in 
such  society  as  Memphis  afforded  just  at  that  time. 

My  new  friends  were  extremely  anxious  to  know  exactly 
what  was  going  on  within  the  rebel  lines,  and  asked  me  all  sorts 
of  questions.  I  endeavored  to  gratify  their  curiosity  as  well  as 
I  could  without  committing  myself  too  much,  and  in  return 
made  an  effort  to  find  out  what  I  was  so  desirous  of  knowing 
about  the  contemplated  movement  of  the  Federal  troops. 

I  did  not  have  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  learning  very  nearly 
everything  that  was  to  be  learned  about  the  number  and  dis 
position  of  the  troops  along  the  line  of  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  Railroad,  and  also  that  the  force  at  Colliersville  was 
being  materially  strengthened  in  apprehension  of  an  attack  in 
that  quarter.  This  information  I  promptly  communicated  to 
my  confidant,  who  started  for  Forrest's  headquarters  without 
more  delay.  The  concentration  of  the  Federal  force  at  Col 
liersville,  I  had  every  reason  to  believe,  was  induced  by  the 
despatch  I  delivered  to  General  Washburn.  At  any  rate,  it 
had  the  effect  of  leaving  a  gap  in  the  Federal  line  beyond 
Grand  Junction  for  Forrest  to  step  through  ;  and,  when  in  a 
day  or  two,  intelligence  was  received  that  he  was  on  a  grand 
raid  through  Western  Tennessee,  I  knew  that  the  plot  in 
which  I  had  been  engaged  had  succeeded  in  the  best  manner. 

FORREST'S  RAID. 

I  made  a  great  to-do  when  the  news  of  Forrest's  raid  was 
received,  and  pretended  to  be  frightened  lest  an  attack  should 
be  made  on  Memphis,  and  the  rebels  should  capture  me. 
The  fact  is,  that  Forrest,  before  he  got  through,  did  come 
very  near  the  city,  and  some  of  my  new  acquaintances  were 
just  as  much  frightened  in  reality  as  I  pretended  to  be.  He, 
however,  did  not  make  any  demonstration  in  the  city,  but 
after  a  brilliant  campaign  of  several  weeks  slipped  by  the 
Federals  again,  carrying  back  with  him  into  Mississippi 
sufficient  cattle  and  other  booty  to  amply  repay  him  for  his 
;  trouble. 


AFFAIRS  TAKE  A  NEW  TUEN.  375 

I  thought  that  I  had  reason  to  congratulate  myself  upon  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  in  which  I  had  been  engaged. 
Taking  it  altogether,  it  was  as  well  planned  and  as  well 
executed  a  performance  as  any  I  ever  attempted  during  the 
whole  of  my  career  in  the  Confederate  service. 

My  friend,  the  lieutenant,  whose  regard  for  me  really 
increased  with  each  succeeding  interview,  was  obliged  to 
return  to  his  camp,  after  having  assisted  me  in  obtaining 
a  new  outfit.  In  a  day  or  two,  however,  he  returned, 
having  obtained  a  ten  days'  leave  of  absence,  and  he  began 
to  increase  the  zealousness  of  his  attentions.  On  his  return 
to  Memphis  he  brought  with  him  a  fine  horse,  which  he 
claimed  to  have  captured,  and  said  that  it  should  be 
reserved  for  my  use,  if  I  would  accept  of  it,  so  long  as  I 
remained  in  the  city.  I  was  not  at  all  averse  to  having  a 
good  time,  although  I  was  beginning  to  wonder  how  I  was 
ever  to  get  back  to  my  starting-place  again,  and  I  rode  out 
a  number  of  times  with  the  lieutenant,  and  accepted  his 
escort  on  all  occasions  that  he  offered  it. 

A  CHANGE  OF  PLANS. 

It  was  while  attending  church  on  the  Sunday  following  the 
arrival,  on  leave,  of  this  rather  over-attentive  young  gentle 
man,  that  something  occurred  which  caused  a  very  material 
alteration  in  my  plans,  which  induced  me  to  abandon  my 
design  to  return  to  Mobile,  and  which  resulted  in  my  entering 
upon  an  entirely  new  field  of  operations.  I,  of  course,  at  the 
time,  had  no  idea  whatever  how  things  were  going  to  turn 
out,  but  if  all  had  been  arranged  beforehand  they  could  not 
have  turned  out  more  in  accordance  with  my  desires. 

During  the  service  I  noticed  in  the  congregation  a  Con 
federate  officer  in  citizen's  clothes,  whom  I  knew  by  sight,  and 
who  belonged  to  my  brother's  command.  He  did  not  know 
me,  especially  as  a  woman,  although  he  had  seen  me  a  number 
of  times  attired  in  the  uniform  of  a  Confederate  officer.  I  was 
most  desirous  of  communicating  with  him,  for  the  purpose  of 
inquiring  about  my  brother,  of  whom  I  had  received  no  intel 
ligence  whatever  for  a  number  of  months  ;  so,  after  the  service 
was  over,  I  watched  him  as  he  left  the  church,  and  seeing  him 
turn  the  corner,  said  to  the  lieutenant,  "  Let  us  take  a  walk 
down  this  street."  Keeping  him  in  sight,  I  saw  him  turn  down 
towards  the  Hardwick  House,  and  consequently  suggested  to 


376  A   GAME   OF   CARDS. 

the  lieutenant  that  it  would  perhaps  be  as  well  to  return  to 
the  hotel  instead  of  indulging  in  a  promenade.  My  escort 
thought  that  I  was  disposed  to  be  whimsical ;  but  I  did  not 
bother  myself  very  greatly  about  his  opinion  of  me  one  way 
or  the  other,  being  now  only  intent  upon  devising  some 
means  of  obtaining  an  interview  with  the  disguised  Confed 
erate. 

On  reaching  the  hotel  I  found  that  the  man  I  was  after  had 
disappeared,  and  I  was  considerably  perplexed  to  know  what 
course  to  pursue.  I  was  afraid  to  send  him  my  card,  for  fear 
of  compromising  him  in  some  way,  as  I  thought  it  highly  prob 
able  that  he  was  stopping  at  the  hotel  under  an  assumed 
name.  I  was  bent  on  securing  an  opportunity  to  converse 
with  him,  however,  and  hoped  to  be  able  to  meet  him,  #nd  to 
attract  his  attention  before  evening,  but  failing  in  this,  I  was 
resolved  to  find  out  what  I  could  about  him  from  some  of  the 
servants,  and  to  send  him  a  note  requesting  a  private  inter 
view,  giving  him  a  sufficient  hint  as  to  who  I  was  to  induce 
him  to  think  that  he  would  be  in  no  danger.  Fortunately, 
however,  I  was  not  compelled  to  resort  to  any  such  expedient 
as  this,  for,  on  going  in  to  dinner  at  five  o'clock  with  the 
lieutenant,  I  saw  him  at  one  of  the  tables,  having  apparent 
ly  just  sat  down. 

A  STRICTLY    PRIVATE    COMMUNICATION. 

The  lieutenant  was  conducting  me  to  the  seat  which  we 
usually  occupied,  but  I  said,  as  if  seized  with  a  sudden  freak 
for  a  change  of  locality,  "  Suppose  we  go  over  to  this  table 
to-day.  I  think  we  will  find  it  pleasanter  ;  "  and,  before  my 
Federal  friend  had  time  to  object,  I  had  walked  him  across 
the  room  arid  seated  myself  beside  the  Confederate,  indicating 
for  the  lieutenant  to  take  the  seat  on  the  other  side  of  me. 
When  the  waiter  came  up  to  get  our  orders  for  dinner,  I 
asked  him  to  bring  me  a  couple  of  cards. 

All  this  time  I  took  not  the  slightest  notice  of  the  Confed 
erate,  but  chatted  with  the  lieutenant  in  the  liveliest  and  most 
animated  manner  possible  ;  my  object  being  to  so  engage  his 
attention  that  he  would  not  think  of  observing  what  I  was 
doing  for  the  purpose  of  letting  the  gentleman  on  the  other 
side  of  me  know  that  I  was  interested  in  him. 

On  one  of  the  cards  I  wrote  some  nonsense,  which  I  sent 
by  the  waiter,  after  having  shown  it  to  the  lieutenant,  to 


A    CAPITAL    JOKE.  377 

another  officer  whom  I  saw  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room. 
On  the  other  one  I  wrote,  "  Meet  me  at  my  room,  at  half  past 
ten  o'clock  this  evening,  unobserved.  Important."  This  I 
made  a  pretence  of  slipping  in  my  pocket,  but  dropped  it  on 
the  floor  instead,  touching  the  Confederate  officer  as  I  did  so, 
and  half  turning  towards  him  in  such  a  manner  that  he  could 
readily  understand  that  I  was  endeavoring  to  attract  his 
attention.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  lieutenant  was 
watching  to  see  what  would  be  the  effect  of  the  jesting 
remark  I  had  written  on  the  first  card  on  the  gentleman 
across  the  room  to  whom  I  had  sent  it.  He  laughed  and 
nodded,  and  the  lieutenant  and  I  did  the  same,  —  all  of  us, 
apparently,  being  satisfied  that  there  was  a  capital  joke  in 
.progress  ;  which  indeed  there  was,  but  not  exactly  the  kind 
of  one  they  imagined. 

The  Confederate  officer,  when  he  looked  down  and  saw  the 
card  on  the  floor,  quickly  dropped  his  napkin  on  it,  and 
stooped  to  pick  it  up.  He  found  an  opportunity  to  read  my 
message  before  he  left  the  table,  but  I  took  no  further  notice 
of  him  whatever,  until  just  as  he  was  about  to  retire,  when  1 
turned  slightly,  and  looking  him  full  in  the  face,  gave  him  a 
meaning  glance,  so  that  he  could  understand  that  there  was 
no  mistake  about  the  matter. 

At  the  hour  named  on  the  card  the  Confederate  officer 
came  to  my  room,  evidently  very  much  perplexed,  and  uncer 
tain  what  the  end  of  the  adventure  would  be.  I  hastened  to 
apologize  for  the  liberty  I  had  taken,  and  to  place  him  at  his 
ease  by  explaining  matters. 

I  said,  "  You  will  pardon  me,  sir  ;  but  this  is  Lieutenant  B., 
of  Arkansas,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  madam,  that  is  my  name,"  he  replied. 

"  You  need  be  under  no  apprehension,  sir.     I  know  you, 

although  you  do  not  know  me.     I  am  the  sister  of  Captain 

— ,  and  I   am   exceedingly  anxious   to  learn   where  he   is 

and   how  he  is,  for  I  have  not  been  able  to  hear  from  him 

for  a  very  long  time." 

NEWS  FROM  MY  BROTHER. 

The  announcement  that  I  was  the  sister  of  Captain  -  — , 
was  evidently  an  immense  relief  to  Lieutenant  B.,  whose  face 
brightened  up  immediately.  He  stated  that  he  was  very 
much  pleased  to  meet  me,  but  that  he  was  sorry  to  have  to 


378  NORTHWARD   BOUND. 

tell  me  that  my  brother  had  been  captured  by  the  Federals 
about  four  months  before,  and  was  now  a  prisoner  at  Camp 
Chase. 

This  was  unpleasant  news,  and  it  determined  me  to  give 
up  the  idea  of  returning  to  Mobile,  but  to  go  North  and  visit 
my  brother,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  him  in  any  way 
possible.  .From -what  I  had  learned  during  my  late  stay  in 
Memphis,  too,  I  was  very  well  convinced  that,  as  a  secret 
service  agent,  I  would  be  able  to  operate  with  far  more  effect 
at  the  North  than  I  would  if  I  remained  in  this  region  of 
country;  which  was  an  additional  inducement  for  me  to  travel 
northward,  rather  than  to  essay  the  hazardous  experiment  of 
regaining  the  Confederate  lines  without  having  some  definite 
object  in  view. 

I  had  quite  a  lengthy  conversation  with  Lieutenant  B. 
about  my  brother,  and  about  affairs  generally ;  and  having 
announced  to  him  my  intention  of  visiting  the  North,  and 
perhaps  of  acting  as  a  secret  service  agent  if  I  saw  opportu 
nities  for  doing  anything  for  the  advancement  of  the  Con 
federate  cause,  I  obtained  from  him  quite  a  number  of  hints 
about  the  best  methods  of  proceeding,  and  he  gave  me  the 
names  of  persons  in  different  places  who  were  friends  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  with  whom  I  could  communicate.  He  also 
advised  me  to  talk  with  certain  parties,  whom  he  named,  in 
Memphis,  who  could  advise  me,  and  give  me  much  valuable 
information. 

The  next  day  I  conferred  with  some  of  the  persons  whom 
he  had  mentioned,  and  having  become  thoroughly  posted,  I 
began  to  prepare  for  my  departure.  My  friend,  the  Federal 
lieutenant,  whose  attentions  had  been  getting  more  and  more 
ardent  every  day,  was,  or  pretended  to  be,  very  much  cut  up 
when  he  heard  that  I  intended  to  leave.  I  promised,  however, 
to  write  to  him  so  soon  as  I  arrived  in  New  York,  —  having 
given  him  to  understand  that  that  city  was  my  immediate 
destination,  —  and  intimated  that  I  might  possibly  correspond 
regularly.  He,  in  return  for  the  very  slight  encouragement 
which  I  gave  to  his  hopes  that  we  might  meet  again  when 
the  fighting  was  all  over,  procured  for  me  a  pass  and  trans 
portation  from  General  Washburn,  and  off  I  started,  leaving 
Memphis,  where  I  was  liable  at  any  time  to  be  recognized, 
and  consequently  get  into  trouble,  with  but  little  regret.  As 
for  the  lieutenant,  I  certainly  appreciated  his  attentions  to  me, 
but  I  thought  that  any  heart  pangs  he  might  feel  at  parting 


A   CONFIDENTIAL   CONVERSATION.  379 

would  scarcely  be  so  severe  that  he  would  not  be  able  to 
recover  from  them  in  course  of  time. 

My  first  object  was  to  see  my  brother,  to  give  him  such 
assistance  as  I  was  able,  and  to  discover  whether  I  could  not 
do  something  towards  having  him  released.  I  had  not  seen 
him  for  a  number  of  years,  and,  as  the  reader  will  remember, 
had  only  learned  of  his  being  in  the  Confederate  army  some 
little  time  before  my  second  marriage.  He  was  the  only 
relative  I  had  in  the  country,  and  I  felt  very  anxious  about 
him,  fearing  greatly  that  he  might  be  sick,  or  suffering  for 
some  of  the  necessities  of  life.  I  therefore  pushed  forward 
as  rapidly  as  I  could,  and  made  no  stoppage  of  any  moment 
until  I  reached  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  I  took  a  room  at 
the  Gait  House,  and  communicated  with  a  Mr.  B.,  a  gentle 
man  whose  name  had  been  given  me  as  one  in  whom  I  could 
confide,  and  to  whom  I  could  appeal  in  case  I  was  in  need 
of  assistance. 

A  MYSTERIOUS  FRIEND  OP  THE  CONFEDERACY. 

I  told  Mr.  B.  who  I  was,  and  what  was  my  errand,  and 
informing  him  that  I  was  short  of  funds,  asked  whether  he 
could  not  do  something  for  me.  He  said  he  would  make  an 
effort  in  my  behalf,  and  accordingly  a  gentleman,  who  declined 
to  tell  me  his  name,  but  who  said  that  he  was  a  Confederate, 
called  that  evening  to  see  me  at  my  room.  He  was  greatly 
afraid  of  being  seen  with  me  ;  and  before  he  would  leave,  after 
we  had  finished  our  conversation,  I  had  to  go  out  into  the  hall, 
and  down  as  far  as  the  stairway,  to  see  that  all  was  quiet,  and 
no  one  looking,  before  he  would  venture  out. 

We  had  a  long  talk  about,  not  only  my  immediate  errand  in 
behalf  of  my  brother,  but  about  the  political  and  military 
situation  generally.  As  Mr.  B.  had  told  me  that  I  could  trust 
him  implicitly,  I  had  no  hesitation  in  informing  him,  that 
after  having  seen  my  brother,  and  made  an  effort  to  procure 
his  release,  my  intention  was  to  operate  as  a  secret  service 
agent,  as  I  had  had  considerable  experience  in  that  line  of 
duty.  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  or  proper  to  entertain  him 
with  a  recital  of  the  enterprises  in  which  I  had  been  engaged, 
but  told  him  just  enough  about  myself  to  let  him  understand 
that  my  pretensions  were  genuine,  and  that  I  really  meant 
business.  He,  for  his  part,  posted  me  very  thoroughly  about 
the  best  method  of  going  to  work,  not  only  for  procuring  the 


380  A  FRESH  SUPPLY  OF  CASH. 

release  of  my  brother,  but  for  picking  up  information  of  value 
to  the  Confederate  authorities,  and  gave  me  the  names  of  a 
number  of  persons  in  New  York  and  Washington,  as  well  as 
in  the  West,  with  whom  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  become 
acquainted  as  early  as  possible.  He  also  gave  me  hints  of 
various  enterprises,  of  more  or  less  consequence,  that  were  on 
foot,  and  assured  me  that  I  could  be  of  the  greatest  service 
to  the  cause  if  I  would  co-operate  with  the  Confederate  agents 
at  the  North. 

Before  taking  his  leave,  he  suggested  that  I  should  retire 
early,  and  be  ready  to  go  by  the  first  train  in  the  morning, 
and  said  that  he  would  see  that  I  was  provided  with  funds. 
The  name  of  this  gentleman  I  could  never  discover,  although 
I  had  considerable  curiosity  on  the  subject.  He  was  very 
much  of  an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
was  evidently  an  efficient  secret  worker  for  the  cause  ;  but  he 
was  either  excessively  timid,  or  else  he  believed  that  he  could 
do  more  to  advance  the  interest  of  the  cause  by  being,  as  far 
as  practicable,  unknown  even  to  those  with  whom  he  co 
operated. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  was  awakened  by  a  knock  on  my 
door,  and  some  one  outside  asked  if  I  was  going  on  the  early 
train.  I  replied  that  I  was,  and  hastened  to  dress  myself  for 
the  journey.  As  I  was  dressing,  I  was  somewhat  startled  to 
see  a  large  envelope  on  the  floor,  which  must  either  have  been 
pushed  under  the  door  or  thrown  in  over  the  transom  during 
the  night.  On  opening  the  envelope  I  found  in  it  five  hundred 
dollars  in  greenbacks,  and  letters  to  a  couple  of  persons  in 
Columbus,  Ohio.  This  money  was  very  acceptable,  for  I  had 
very  little  cash  with  me,  and  it  enabled  me  to  resume  my 
travels  with  a  mind  comparately  free  from  care. 

Before  leaving  Louisville,  however,  I  managed  to  get  rid 
of  some  of  my  cash,  for,  as  I  was  about  starting  for  the 
train,  I  met  a  Confederate  army  friend,  Lieutenant  H.,  with 
whom  I  had  a  hurried  conversation.  He  informed  me  that 
he  was  an  escaped  prisoner,  and  was  endeavoring  to  make  his 
way  South,  hoping  to  be  able  to  get  within  the  Confederate 
lines  before  being  discovered.  I  gave  him  some  advice  about 
the  best  method  of  proceeding ;  and  as  I  knew  that  he  was 
short  of  funds,  or  most  likely  would  be  before  he  got  among 
his  friends  again,  I  pressed  fifteen  dollars  upon  him,  for  which 
he  was  overwhelmingly  grateful. 

I  got  off  on  the  early  train,  in  accordance  with  the  under- 


BROTHER  AND   SISTER.  381 

standing  with  my  unknown  friend  of  the  evening  before,  and 
in  due  time  arrived  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  took  a  room  at  the 
Neil  House.  Here  I  felt  tolerably  secure,  a.s  no  one  knew  me, 
and  I  was  sufficiently  far  away  from  the  seat  of  war  to  come 
and  go  as  I  chose  without  rendering  myself  liable  to  suspi 
cion. 

I  concluded,  before  delivering  the  letters  I  had  received  in 
Louisville,  that  I  would  try  and  see  what  my  own  unaided 
efforts  would  do  for  my  brother.  *I  therefore,  the  next  day, 
called  upon  the  general  in  command,  —  I  have  forgotten  his 
name,  —  and  introducing  myself,  said,  that  if  it  was  allowable, 
I  would  like  very  much  to  visit  that  rebel  brother  of  mine. 

The  general  asked  me  if  I  had  a  brother  in  the  prison;  and 
I  told  him  that  such  was  unfortunately  the  case,  but  that, 
notwithstanding  he  was  on  the  wrong  side,  I  could  not  help 
having  an  affection  for  him,  and  was  desirous  of  assisting 
him  in  case  he  should  be  in  need. 

The  general  asked  me  a  number  of  questions  about  myself 
and  my  brother,  in  answer  to  which  I  gave  him  to  understand 
that  I  was  from  New  York,  was  a  strong  Unionist,  and  had  only 
recently  heard  that  my  brother  was  a  prisoner,  although  I  was 
aware  that  he  had  entered  the  rebel  army  shortly  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war.  Having  satisfied  himself  that  I  was 
all  right,  the  general,  without  hesitation,  gave  me  the  desired 
permit,  and,  with  a  profusion  of  thanks,  I  bowed  myself  out 
of  his  presence. 

On  reaching  the  Todd  Barracks,  where  the  prisoners  were 
confined,  I  found  a  one-armed  major  in  command.  He  was 
very  polite  indeed,  and  entered  into  quite  a  conversation  with 
me,  during  which  he  told  me  that  he  had  lost  his  arm  in  the 
Mexican  war.  When  my  brother  came,  the  major  gave  us  his 
own  private  room,  so  that  we  might  talk  together  without 
fear  of  interruption. 

MEETING  WITH  MY  BROTHER. 

My  meeting  with  my  brother  was  a  most  affectionate  one. 
It  had  been  a  very  long  time  since  we  had  seen  each  other, 
and  there  was  much  that  each  of  us  had  to  say.  I  disclosed 
to  him  part  of  my  plans,  and  instructed  him  how  to  talk  and 
act  towards  me.  He  was  to  call  me  his  Union  sister,  and  was 
to  speak  of  me  as  a  New  Yorker.  I  expressed  considerable 
hope  that  I  would  be  able  to  effect  his  release,  and  stated  that 


382  THE  PRISONER  RELEASED. 

I  would  go  on  to  Washington  for  the  purpose,  if  necessary, 
and  see  the  president  and  secretary  of  war. 

This  proceeding,  however,  I  found  to  be  unnecessary,  for 
Governor  Brough,  of  Ohio,  a  hearty,  pleasant-spoken,  and  good- 
natured  old  gentleman,  happened  to  be  stopping  at  the  same 
hotel  with  me,  and  I  contrived  to  obtain  an  introduction  to 
him.  I  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  the  governor  with  con 
siderable  assiduity,  and  he  took  quite  a  fancy  to  me,  so  much 
so,  that  he  promised  to  use  his  influence  to  obtain  a  parole  for 
my  brother.  This  promise  the  governor  kept,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  prisoner  was  released  and  ordered  to  proceed  East, 
and  to  report  first  to  General  Cadwalader,  at  Philadelphia, 
and  then  to  General  Dix,  at  New  York,  the  idea  being  that  he 
was  to  remain  with  me  in  the  last-named  city. 

In  company  with  my  brother,  therefore,  I  proceeded  East, 
and  went  to  New  York,  where  I  left  him,  while  I  went  on  to 
Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  what  could  be  done 
in  the  way  of  aiding  the  Confederate  cause  by  a  series  of 
operations  at  the  Federal  capital. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

SECRET    SERVICE    DUTY    AT    THE    NORTH. 

New  Scenes  and  new  Associations.  —  My  first  Visit  to  the  North.  —  The 
Wealth  and  Prosperity  of  the  North  contrasted  with  the  Poverty  and 
Desolation  of  the  South.  —  Much  of  the  northern  Prosperity  fictitious. 

—  The  anti-war  Party  and  its  Strength.  —  How  some  of  the  People  of 
the  North  made  Money  during  the  War.  —  "  Loyal "  Blockade-runners 
and  Smugglers.  —  Confederate  Spies  and  Emissaries  in  the  government 
Offices.  —  The  Opposition  to  the  Draft.  —  The  bounty-jumping  Frauds. 

—  My  Connection  with  them.  —  Operations  of  the  Confederate  Secret 
Service  Agents.  —  Other  Ways  of  fighting  the  Enemy  than  by  Battles 
in  the   Field.  —  I   arrange  a  Plan  of  Operations,  and  place  myself  in 
communication  with  the  Confederate  Authorities  at  Richmond,  and  also 
with    Federal   Officials   at  Washington  and  elsewhere.  —  I   abandon 
Fighting  for  Strategy. 

> 

WAS  now  introduced  to   entirely  new  scenes, 
new  associations,  and  a  new  sphere  of  activity. 
I  had  never  before  been  farther  north  than  Wash 
ington,  and  my  visit  to  the  Federal  capital  was 
the  hasty  and  secret  one  made  shortly  after  the 
battle  of  Ball's  Bluff,  the  particulars  of  which 
are  recorded  in  a  previous  chapter.     It  was  almost 
like   going  into  another  world  to  pass  from  the  war 
worn  Confederacy  to  the  rich  and  prosperous  states 

which  adhered  to  the  Federal  government ;  and,  when 

I  saw  the  evidences  of  apparently  inexhaustible  wealth  around 
me,  and  contrasted  them  in  my  mind  with  what  I  was  leaving 
behind  in  the  yet  unconquered  Confederacy,  I  confess  that  my 
heart  began  to  fail,  and  I  despaired  of  the  cause  more  than  I 
had  ever  done  before. 

In  a  great  portion  of  the  South  the  towns  and  villages 
were  few  and  far  between,  the  forests  large  and  dense,  the 
population  thin  and  scattering,  while  the  most  imposing  of  the 
Southern  cities  were  far  less  splendid  than  New  York  and 

383 


384  IN  THE  ENEMY'S  COUNTRY. 

Philadelphia,  and  such  prosperity  as  they  had  at  one  time 
enjoyed  was  now  all  but  destroyed,  through  the  rigidness  of 
the  Federal  blockade.  Back  of  the  Northern  cities,  too,  was 
a  rich,  highly  cultivated,  and  thickly  populated  country,  with 
numerous  large  towns,  abounding  in  wealth,  and  with  appar 
ently  as  many  men  at  home,  attending  to  the  ordinary  duties 
of  life,  as  if  there  was  no  war  going  on,  and  no  huge  armies 
in  the  field. 

Not  only  was  there  no  blockade  to  put  an  end  to  commerce, 
and  to  cause  a  deprivation  of  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
but  commerce,  as  well  as  all  manner  of  home  industries,  had 
been  greatly  stimulated ;  so  that  the  war — while  it  was  starv 
ing  the  South,  and  forcing  the  male  population  into  the  field, 
until  there  were  scarcely  left  enough  to  carry  on  absolutely 
needful  trade  and  tillage —  actually  appeared  to  be  making  the 
North  rich,  and  thousands  of  people  were  literally  coining 
money  with  government  contracts}  and  by  means  of  innu 
merable  industries  brought  into  being  by  the  great  conflict. 

THE  STRENGTH  OF  THE  FEDERALS. 

The  subjugation  of  the  South  was  therefore  simply  a  ques 
tion  of  time,  if  matters  continued  as  they  were,  and  the  Fed 
erals  would  achieve  the  ends  they  had  in  view  by  sheer  force 
of  numbers  and  practically  inexhaustible  resources,  no  matter 
how  valiantly  the  Confederate  soldiers  might  fight,  or  how 
skilfully  they  might  be  led.  Was  this  subjugation  of  the 
South  inevitable,  however?  This  was  the  question  that  ad 
dressed  itself  to  my  mind,  and  upon  the  determination  of 
which  the  course  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  pursue  in  the 
future  would  have  to  depend. 

I  was  not  very  long  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
triumph  of  the  Confederate  cause  was  not  by  any  means  an 
impossibility,  provided  the  right  means  were  used  to  bring  it 
about.  I  also  speedily  satisfied  myself  that  the  interests  of 
the  cause  could  be  advanced  just  as  much  by  diligent  and 
zealous  workers  at  the  North,  as  by  the  men  who  were  fight 
ing  the  battles  of  the  Confederacy  in  Virginia,  Georgia,  Ten 
nessee,  Mississippi,  and  Arkansas ;  and  I  was  so  well  con 
vinced  that  at  last  I  had  found  the  best  field  for  the  exercise 
of  my  own  peculiar  talents,  that  I  greatly  regretted  not  hav 
ing  made  my  way  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  country  long 
before. 


THE  WAR  FEELING  NORTH  AND  SOUTH.         385 

For  very  nearly  a  year  now  I  had  done  very  little  that  was 
at  all  satisfactory  to  myself,  or  at  all  really  helpful — that  is, 
helpful  in  a  large  and  positive  way  —  to  the  Confederate 
cause ;  whereas,  all  this  time  I  might  have  been  carrying  on 
a  series  of  important  operations  at  the  North.  It  looked, 
indeed,  like  a  great  waste  of  time ;  but,  if  it  was  wasted,  I 
resolved  to  do  my  best  to  redeem  it,  by  the  activity  of  my 
'performances  in  the  future ;  and  I  had  great  reason  to  hope 
that  these  performances  would  be  productive  of  not  unimpor 
tant  results. 

It  required  but  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  condition  of 
affairs  to  discover  that  the  surface  indications  of  wealth,  pros 
perity,  and  overpowering  strength  at  the  North  were  delu 
sive.  The  North  certainly  was  wealthy  and  powerful ;  but, 
unfortunately  for  the  Federal  government's  efforts  to  conquer 
the  South,  and  to  put  a  speedy  end  to  the  war,  the  people 
were  very  far  from  being  united. 

UNITED  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT  AT  THE  SOUTH. 

At  the  South  there  were  few,  if  any,  genuine  adherents  of 
the  Federal  government,  and  public  opinion  was  united  on 
the  subject  of  achieving  independence.  At  the  period  of 
which  I  am  writing  —  the  winter  of  1863-64  —  there  may 
have  been,  and  doubtless  were,  many  persons  who  were 
heartily  tired  of  the  war,  and  who  would  have  been  glad  of 
peace  on  almost  any  terms.  The  vast  majority,  however, 
were  still  in  favor  of  fighting  the  thing  out,  in  spite  of  pov 
erty,  and  in  spite  of  the  privations  of  every  kind  which  they 
were  compelled  to  suffer. 

At  the  North,  on  the  other  hand,  the  majority  of  the  people 
had  entered  upon  the  war  with  reluctance ;  many  who  did  go 
into  it  with  considerable  enthusiasm,  with  the  idea  of  pre 
serving  the  Union,  were  disgusted  when  it  became  day  by 
day  more  apparent  that  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  was  a 
part  of  the  policy  of  the  government ;  many  who  went  into  it 
for  the  sake  of  seeing  some  fighting  were  heartily  tired,  and 
wanted  to  stop ;  and  many  more,  who  were  eager  enough  to 
begin  a  fight,  simply  out  of  animosity  to  the  Southerners, 
sickened  of  the  thing  when  their  pockets  were  touched  by 
the  enormous  advance  in  prices,  and  by  the  heavy  taxes  which 
the  prolongation  of  the  contest  necessitated,  and  were  quite 
willing  for  peace  at  almost  any  price. 
25 


386  THE   OPPONENTS   OF  THE  WAR. 

In  addition  to  these  elements  of  discord,  there  was  a  large, 
influential,  powerful,  and  wealthy  anti-war  party,  composed  of 
people  who  were,  and  always  had  been,  opposed  to  the  war, 
and  who  numbered  among  them  many  who  were  not  only 
opposed  to  the  war,  but  who  were  warm  and  earnest  friends 
of  the  South.  These  latter  believed  that  the  government  had 
no  right  to  coerce  States  which  desired  to  leave  the  Union 
to  remain  in  it,  and  they  were  bitterly  antagonistic  to  any  and 
all  attempts  to  subjugate  the  South,  and  did  everything  in 
their  power  to  baffle  the  efforts  of  the  government  to  carry 
on  the  war  efficiently.  These  people  constantly  aided,  with 
their  money  and  their  influence,  the  Confederate  agents  who 
were  working  and  scheming  for  the  advancement  of  their 
cause  at  the  North,  and  did  a  great  deal  to  embarrass  the 
Federal  government. 

Besides  these,  there  were  a  great  number  of  weak-kneed, 
or  indifferent  people,  who  had  no  opinions  of  their  own  worth 
speaking  of,  and  whose  chief  anxiety  was  to  be  on  the  win 
ning  side.  These  were  for  the  war  or  against  it,  as  the  tide 
of  battle  turned  in  favor  of  the  Federals  or  the  Confederates. 
The  news  of  a  tremendous  defeat  inflicted  on  the  Confed 
erates,  or  of  the  capture  of  an  important  position,  would 
excite  their  enthusiasm,  and  make  them  talk  loudly  of  fighting 
the  thing  out  until  the  rebels  were  whipped ;  while  a  season 
of  prolonged  inactivity,  or  a  succession  of  Confederate  vic 
tories,  caused  them  to  look  gloomily  on  the  situation,  and  to 
suggest  that  there  had  been  about  enough  fighting,  that  it  was 
about  time  prices  were  coming  down  a  little,  and  that  as  the 
war  had  been  going  on  so  long,  without  any  practical  results, 
there  was  not  much  use  in  killing  more  men  and  spending 
more  money,  when  there  was  no  more  chance  this  year  than 
there  was  last  of  a  speedy  end  to  the  contest.  In  this  class 
the  Confederates  found  many  allies. 

THE  PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN. 

At  the  time  of  my  arrival  at  the  North  the  anti-war  party 
was  concentrating  its  strength  for  the  approaching  presiden 
tial  campaign,  and  many  men  who  were  prominent  in  it  were 
decidedly  confident  that  the  next  election  would  place  a 
president  in  the  White'  House,  whose  views  about  the  proper 
policy  to  be  pursued  towards  the  South  would  be  radically 
different  from  those  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  If  an  anti-war  president 


THE  SPY  SYSTEM  AT  THE  NORTH.  387 

could  be  elected,  —  and  there  were  many  reasons  to  believe 
that  such  a  thing  would  be  possible,  —  a  speedy  wind-up  of 
the  war,  on  terms  satisfactory  to  the  Confederates,  would 
almost  certainly  follow  his  inauguration. 

This  being  the  situation,  it  was  as  much  for  the  interest  of 
the  Richmond  government  that  the  political  dissensions  ex 
isting  within  the  Federal  lines  should  be  kept  alive,  and  the 
success  of  the  anti-war  party  promoted  by  every  possible 
means,  as  it  was  to  win  victories  on  the  battle-field.  Indeed, 
it  was  much  more  important ;  for  victories  cost  men  and 
treasure,  which  the  Confederacy  could  not  well  spare,  and 
even  more  was  to  be  gained  by  fighting  the  enemy  on  his 
own  ground  with  the  ballot,  than  there  was  by  shooting  him 
on  Confederate  soil  with  the  bullet. 

It  was  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Confederate 
agents  at  the  North  to  aid,  by  every  possible  means,  the 
success  of  the  anti-war  party,  and  to  this  end  they  labored 
incessantly  and  effectively  in  various  ways;  but,  outside 
of  the  field  of  politics,  there  was  an  immense  amount  of 
highly  important  work  being  done,  the  like  of  which  my 
brief  experiences  in  New  Orleans  had  barely  given  me  a 
hint  of. 


CONFEDERATE  SPIES  AND  AGENTS  IN  GOVERNMENT  EMPLOY. 

Many  officials  in  the  government  employ  were  either  secret 
service  agents  of  the  Confederacy,  or  were  in  the  pay  of 
such.  There  was  not  a  public  building  at  Washington  that 
did  not  contain  a  person  or  persons  who  was  not  only  will 
ing,  but  eager  to  do  much  more  than  furnish  information 
to  the  commanders  of  the  Confederate  armies  and  to  the 
Richmond  authorities,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so  with 
out  placing  themselves  in  peril.  In  all  of  the  large  cities 
were  men  and  women,  many  of  them  in  government  em 
ploy,  who  were  in  constant  communication  with  the  Confed 
erate  agents,  and  in  all  of  them  were  merchants  who  were 
rapidly  growing  wealthy  by  sending  goods  of  all  kinds, 
including  arms  and  ammunition,  to  the  South,  either  by 
having  them  smuggled  through  the  lines,  or  by  shipping 
them  to  some  neutral  port  for  the  purpose  of  having  them 
transferred  to  blockade-runners. 

Some  of  these  merchants  made  no  pretensions,  but  sold  to 
whoever  would  buy,  having  the  avowed  intention  of  making 


388  OPPOSITION   TO   THE   DRAFT. 

all  the  money  they  could  by  every  safe  means.  They  simply 
asked  no  questions,  but  took  their  cash,  and  shipped  according 
to  order.  Others  were  blockade-runners,  pure  and  simple,  and 
their  only  anxiety  was  to  keep  their  operations  concealed 
from  the  government  detectives. 

Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  however,  were  sold  for 
the  Southern  market  by  men  who  were  loud  in  their  protesta 
tions  of  loyalty  to  the  Federal  government,  who  bitterly  de 
nounced  the  South,  in  public  and  in  private,  who  contributed 
largely  to  aid  in  carrying  on  the  war,  and  who  enjoyed,  in  the 
fullest  manner,  the  confidence  of  the  government,  and  of  those 
of  their  fellow-citizens  who  honestly  believed  that  the  war 
was  a  just  one. 

I  will  not  say  that  all  of  these  men  were  hypocrites  and 
traitors,  for  I  am  confident  that  very  many  of  them  were  not. 
Some,  however,  —  and  those  not  the  least  influential  and 
wealthy,  —  had  different  opinions  about  things  in  general, 
and  the  war,  in  particular,  in  public  and  in  the  social  circles 
which  they  frequented,  and  in  their  counting-rooms,  when 
certain  people  called  on  them  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
goods.  They  were  more  than  anxious  to  sell  to  any  one  who 
would  buy,  but  in  case  the  buyer  was  known  to  be,  or  was 
suspected  of  being,  a  Confederate  agent,  the  question  of  the 
moment  was,  to  sell  without  being  found  out.  Of  course, 
some  of  them  were  detected  occasionally,  but  there  was  gen 
erally  a  way  to  be  found  for  dealing  with  these  gentlemen 
with  tender  consciences  and  highly  loyal  reputations,  by 
which  their  goods  could  be  purchased  for  cash,  and  their  rep 
utations  spared,  at  the  same  time. 

THE  CONSCRIPTION. 

Another  element  in  the  situation  was,  the  intense  opposition 
to  the  conscription  which  was  going  on  for  the  purpose  of 
recruiting  the  armies  —  the  supply  of  volunteers  having  long 
since  failed.  This  opposition,  before  my  arrival  at  the  North, 
had  culminated  in  bloody  riots  in  New  York  and  several  other 
places,  which  caused  the  greatest  alarm,  because  they  indi 
cated,  in  a  very  positive  manner,  that  there  was  a  very  large 
disaffected  class  in  the  population,  which,  if  excited  to  take 
up  arms,  might  be  able  to  start  a  new  and  formidable  rebellion 
within  the  Federal  lines.  Many  of  those,  too,  who  professed 
to  favor  the  war  were  opposed  to  the  conscription ;  that  is, 


RASCALITIES.  389 

they  were  opposed  to  being  conscripted  themselves,  although 
they  were  willing  enough  that  other  people  should  go  and  do 
their  fighting  for  them. 

The  most  obnoxious  feature  of  the  draft,  however,  had 
been  in  a  measure  overcome  by  the  different  states,  cities, 
and  towns  offering  liberal  bounties  for  men  to  enlist.  In 
this  manner  most  of  the  quotas  were  filled,  but  the  pay 
ment  of  bounties  —  a  demoralizing  proceeding,  under  any 
circumstances  —  opened  the  way  for  the  most  shameless  and 
gigantic  frauds.  The  story  of  the  bounty  jumping  during 
the  last  two  years  of  the  war,  is  not  one  that  any  patriotic 
American  citizen  can  read  with  complacency  or  satisfaction, 
and  for  pure  infamy  I  think  that  it  surpasses  anything  that 
the  future  historian  of  the  war  will  be  compelled  to  put 
on  record. 

BOUNTY  JUMPING  AND  OTHER  FRAUDS. 

I  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  these  bounty -jumping  frauds, 
and  with  a  number  of  other  matters  very  nearly  as  bad, — 
or,  perhaps,  in  the  opinion  of  the  reader,  worse,  —  and  it  may 
be  thought  that  I  was  as  culpable  as  those  whom  I  now  de 
nounce.  To  those  who  are  only  willing  to  consider  such  a 
subject  as  this  from  one  point  of  view,  I  have  simply  nothing 
to  say ;  but  fair-minded  persons,  North  and  South,  will,  how 
ever,  freely  admit  that  my  actions  as  a  secret  agent  of  the 
Confederate  government  are  not  to  be  put  in  comparison  with 
those  of  the  dealers  in  human  flesh  and  blood,  the  counterfeit 
ers,  and  others  who  did  what  they  did  solely  from  motives  of 
gain.  At  any  rate,  acting  as  I  was  under  orders  from  the 
only  government  the  authority  of  which  I  acknowledged,  and 
animated  only  by  an  ardent  desire  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  cause  which  I  had  espoused,  I  felt  that  I  was  justified 
in  embarrassing  the  enemy  by  any  means  in  my  power,  and 
that  the  kind  of  warfare  which  I  carried  on  in  the  rear  of  the 
Federal  armies  was  just  as  legitimate  as  that  which  was  car 
ried  on  face  to  face  with  them  in  the  field. 

It  was  not  pleasant  for  me  to  be  brought  into  the  relations 
I  was  with  some  of  the  most  consummate  scoundrels  who  ever 
escaped  the  gallows  or  the  penitentiary,  and  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  reflect  upon  some  of  the  features  of  my  career  as  a 
Confederate  secret  service  agent  at  the  North  with  anything 
but  regret  that  I  should  have  been  forced  by  circumstances 


390  ESTABLISHING   CONFIDENTIAL   RELATIONS. 

to  do  what  I  did,  or  to  associate  with  the  men  I  did.  There 
is  nothing,  however,  in  this  portion  of  my  career  that  I  am 
ashamed  of;  and  I  have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  giving  to 
the  world  a  plain,  unadorned  statement  of  the  enterprises  in 
which  I  was  engaged  during  the  last  eighteen  months  of  the 
war.  So  far  as  my  own  performances  are  concerned,  this 
narrative  shall  be  as  full  and  as  complete  as  I  can  make  it ; 
and  if  I  fail  to  go  into  exact  and  minute  details  about  certain 
important  transactions,  it  will  be  simply  because  I  feel  that  I 
am  under  obligations  not  to  betray  my  confederates,  no  mat 
ter  how  unworthy  they  may  have  been.  To  some  of  these 
people  I  am  under  no  obligations  whatever,  and  shall  conse 
quently  not  hesitate  to  speak  plainly  concerning  them ;  but 
with  regard  to  others,  I  prefer  to  err  on  the  honorable  side  by 
saying  too  little,  rather  than  to  rest  under  the  imputation  of 
betraying  confidences. 

ARRANGING  A  PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS. 

It  took  me  some  little  time,  of  course,  to  master  the  entire 
situation ;  but  a  very  brief  residence  at  the  North  enabled  me 
to  see  that  there  was  a  vast  amount  of  most  important  and 
valuable  work  to  be  done  within  the  Federal  lines,  and  that  it 
was  exactly  the  kind  of  work  that  I  could  do  with  the  very 
best  effect.  I  arranged  my  plans,  therefore,  for  a  series  of 
operations  in  behalf  of  the  Confederate  cause,  and,  at  the 
earliest  practicable  moment,  placed  myself  in  communication 
with  the  Richmond  authorities,  and  with  the  various  secret 
service  agents  in  the  Northern  States  and  in  Canada,  and  also 
with  Federal  officials  of  various  kinds,  with  whom  I  desired 
to  establish  confidential  relations,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  their  suspecting  me,  but  to  gain  through  them 
information  otherwise  unobtainable. 

Having  once  established  myself  on  a  satisfactory  footing 
with  those  who  were  managing  matters  at  the  rival  capitals, 
it  became  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  go  ahead  with  some 
degree  of  boldness,  and  to  follow  up  a  systematic  scheme  of 
action ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that,  having  once  gotten  fairly 
started,  I  performed  the  tasks  I  undertook  with  a  praise 
worthy  degree  of  thoroughness,  and  with  not  altogether  un 
important  results. 

The  story  of  this  portion  of  my  career  will  differ  materially 
from  that  which  has  preceded  it.  I  have  now  to  tell,  not  of 


STRATAGEMS  AND  WILES.  391 

battles  and  sieges,  but  of  stratagems  and  wiles ;  and,  as  the 
results  of  warfare  are  determined  even  more  by  strategy  than 
by  actual  hard  fighting,  I  believe  that  the  reader  will  find  the 
ensuing  pages  equally  entertaining  with  those  which  have 
preceded  them,  and  probably  more  so. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

PLAYING  A  DOUBLE   GAME. 

Studying  the  Situation.  —  I  renew  my  Acquaintance  with  old  Friends  of 
the  Federal  Army.  —  Half-formed  Plans.  —  I  obtain  an  Introduction  to 
Colonel  Lafayette  C.  Baker,  Chief  of  the  United  States  Secret  Service 
Corps.  —  Colonel  Baker  and  General  Winder  of  the  Confederate  Secret 
Service  compared.  —  Baker  a  good  Detective  Officer,  but  far  inferior  to 
Winder  as  the  Head  of  a  Secret  Service  Department.  —  I  solicit  Employ 
ment  from  Baker  as  a  Detective,  and  am  indorsed  by  my  Friend  General 
A.  —  Baker  gives  a  rather  indefinite  Answer  to  my  Application.  —  I  go 
to  New  York,  and  fall  in  with  Confederate  Secret  Service  Agents,  who 
employ  me  to  assist  them  in  various  Schemes.  —  Learning  the  Ropes.  — 
I  send  Intelligence  of  my  Movements  to  Richmond,  and  am  enrolled 
as  a  Confederate  Agent.  —  I  have  several  Interviews  with  Baker,  and 
succeed  in  gaining  his  Confidence.  —  Baker's  Surprise  and  Disgust  at 
various  Times  at  his  Plans  leaking  out.  —  The  Secret  of  the  Leakage 
revealed. 

.  o 

'N  going  to  Washington  I  had  no  very  definite 
idea  of  what  I  would  do,  or,  indeed,  what  I 
could  do.  I  was  now  about  to  work  under  dif 
ferent  auspices  from  any  under  which  I  had 
hitherto  been  placed,  and  it  was  necessary  for 
me  to  look  around  a  bit  and  study  the  situation.  In 
a  general  sort  of  way  I  hoped  to  get  access  to  the  differ 
ent  departments,  so  that  I  would  be  able  to  find  out 
what  was  going  on,  and  to  place  myself  in  communica 
tion  with  persons  who  would  be  able  to  give  me  such 
information  as  I  desired.  It  was  also  important  that  I 
should  make  the  acquaintance  of,  and  be  on  friendly  terms 
with,  officers  of  the  army  and  others  who  would  have  the 
power  to  help  me  in  case  I  wanted  to  run  through  the  lines, 
or  in  event  of  my  getting  into  any  trouble  through  meddling 
with  affairs  that  the  government  might  not  desire  an  irrespon 
sible  outsider  like  myself  to  know  too  much  about. 

The  visit  I  had  paid  to  the  prison  where  my  brother  was 
confined,  made  me  think  deeply  about  the  privations  and  suf 
ferings  endured  by  the  brave  Southern  boys  captured  on  a 

392 


USEFUL  FRIENDS.  393 

hundred  battle-fields,  and  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal 
authorities.  The  more  I  thought  of  them  the  more  I  was 
moved  by  an  intense  desire  to  do  something  to  secure  their 
release ;  and  more  than  one  crude  suggestion  of  a  plan  for  the 
accomplishment  of  so  desirable  an  end  floated  through  my 
mind,  without,  however,  my  being  able  to  decide  upon  any 
definite  method  of  procedure. 

I  hoped,  on  going  to  Washington,  to  find  there  some  one 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  and  through  whom  I  might  fall 
in  with  those  who  could  aid  me  in  the  execution  of  my  de 
signs.  On  my  arrival  in  the  Federal  capital,  therefore,  I  made 
inquiries  concerning  the  prominent  officers  of  the  army  there, 
thinking  that,  most  probably,  I  would  be  able  to  meet  some  of 
my  military  friends  of  the  good  old  days  before  the  war,  and  I 
was  not  long  in  learning  that  General  A.  and  Captain  B.  were 
both  on  duty  in  or  near  Washington. 

UNCONSCIOUS  CONFEDERATES. 

I  will  remark  here,  that  I  designate  these  gentlemen  by  the 
two  first  letters  of  the  alphabet,  because  I  desire  to  avoid 
giving  any  clew  to  their  real  names.  They  were  both  men  of 
unimpeachable  honor,  and,  had  they  suspected  in  the  least 
what  my  designs  really  were,  I  believe  that  they  would 
immediately  have  procured  my  arrest,  in  spite  of  any  private 
friendship  they  might  have  had  for  me.  I  made  use  of  them 
for  the  furtherance  of  my  plans  in  the  interest  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  but  they  neither  of  them,  on  any  occasion,  wittingly 
gave  me  any  information  that  they  should  not  have  given.  On 
the  contrary,  they  declined  to  be  of  any  assistance  to  me  in 
visiting  the  departments  or  in  going  to  the  front,  on  the  plea 
that  the  stringent  rules  in  force  would  not  permit  them  to  do 
so.  I  obtained  points  from  them  occasionally  in  conversa 
tion,  for  it  is  impossible  for  any  one,  not  even  a  detective  or 
a  spy,  to  be  as  close-mouthed  on  all  occasions  as  is  desirable ; 
but  the  chief  aid  which  they  extended  was  in  introducing 
me  to  people  whom  I  could  use,  and  in  maintaining  intimate 
and  friendly  personal  relations  with  me,  by  which  I  was  en 
abled  to  gain  a  standing  in  certain  quarters  without  trouble. 

The  general,  when  I  introduced  myself  to  him,  appeared  to 
be  very  glad  to  see  me,  and  asked  me  innumerable  questions 
about  myself,  my  friends,  and  my  adventures  since  we  last  had 
seen  each  other.  I  had  a  plausible  story  ready  to  tell  him,  in 


394  COLONEL  LAFAYETTE  C.  BAKER. 

which  fact  and  fiction  were  mingled  with  some  degree  of  skill, 
and  expressed  myself  with  considerable  bitterness  concerning 
the  rebels,  wishing  that  I  could  do  something  to  aid  in  securing 
a  speedy  termination  of  the  war  by  their  defeat.  After  a  very 
pleasant  intercourse  with  the  general,  I  parted  from  him,  with 
a  request  that  he  would  do  me  the  honor  to  call  on  me  at  the 
hotel,  which  he  promised  to  do. 

The  next  day  I  met  Captain  B.  in  the  street,  and  we  ex 
changed  greetings.  He,  too,  promised  to  call  upon  me.  This 
promise  he  kept,  and  I  had  quite  a  long  talk  with  him  on  gen 
eral  topics,  preferring  to  see  more  of  him  before  attempting  to 
make  him  useful. 

I  saw  both  the  general  and  the  captain  several  times  after 
that,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  with  one  of  them,  I 
forget  which,  he  happened  to  say  something  about  Colonel 
Baker  which  excited  my  interest,  and  induced  me  to  make 
particular  inquiry  concerning  him.  I  had  never  heard  of  this 
individual  before,  but  I  now  speedily  learned  that  he  was  the 
chief  government  detective  officer,  and  that  he  was  uncommonly 
expert  in  hunting  down  rebel  spies,  and  in  putting  a  stop  to 
their  performances.  I  immediately  concluded  that  Colonel 
Baker  was  a  personage  whom  it  was  eminently  desirable  that 
I  should  become  acquainted  with  at  the  earliest  possible  mo 
ment,  and  that  it  would  be  much  more  advantageous  for  me  to 
make  his  acquaintance  through  the  introduction  of  one  of  my 
military  friends,  than  through  finding  him  on  my  track  just 
when  I  had  some  enterprise  for  the  benefit  of  the  Confederacy 
in  process  of  consummation. 

Whichever  of  the  two  it  was  that  I  had  my  original  conver 
sation  with  about  Baker,  it  was  the  general  who  made  me  ac 
quainted  with  him,  and  who  spoke  of  me  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  put  me  in  the  good  graces  of  this  terrible  man  at  the  start. 

GETTING  ACQUAINTED  WITH  DETECTIVE  BAKER. 

Colonel  Lafayette  C.  Baker  occupied  at  Washington  a  some 
what  similar  position  to  that  held  by  General  Winder  at  Rich 
mond,  although  he  scarcely  had  the  large  powers  and  exten 
sive  authority  of  the  chief  of  the  Confederate  secret  service 
department.  In  fact,  Colonel  Baker  was  a  detective  officer 
more  than  anything  else,  and  he  had  comparatively  little  to  do 
with  military  matters.  The  chief  employment  of  himself  and 
his  assistants  was  to  hunt  down  offenders  of  all  kinds  ;  and  he 


BAKER  AND  WINDER.  395 

was  much  more  successful  in  this  than  he  was  in  procuring 
information  for  the  use  of  the  war  department,  although  he 
prided  himself  considerably  on  his  own  performances  as  a  spy, 
and  upon  several  not  unsuccessful  secret  service  expeditions 
into  the  Confederacy  that  had  been  made  by  his  directions, 
and  in  accordance  with  his  plans. 

I  confess  that  I  came  into  the  presence  of  so  formidable  an 
individual  with  some  degree  of  trepidation ;  but  I  very  soon 
learned  to  regard  him  as  not  half  so  ferocious  as  he  looked, 
and  as  very  far  from  being  as  difficult  and  dangerous  a  per 
sonage  to  deal  with  as  he  was  made  out  to  be.  There  is 
nothing  like  having  a  reputation  for  ferocity,  and  other  terri 
ble  qualities,  if  you  want  to  make  people  afraid  of  you,  and 
Colonel  Baker's  reputation  —  how  gained  it  would  be  some 
what  difficult  to  tell  —  did  him  good  service  in  exciting  terror 
among  those  who  were  disposed  to  do  things  which  it  might 
not  be  pleasant  for  a  government  detective  to  find  out. 

Colonel  Baker  differed  as  much  from  General  Winder  in 
appearance  as  he  did  in  other  respects.  Winder  was  a  far 
more  highly  educated  man,  and  he  had  all  that  peculiar  polish 
of  manners  that  can  only  be  attained  by  education,  and  by 
constant  association  with  refined  and  educated  people.  He 
was  a  rather  imposing  looking  man,  too,  and  a  casual  acquaint 
ance  with  him  was  calculated  to  leave  the  impression  that  he 
was  a  very  pleasant  and  good-natured  old  gentleman.  Under 
his  smooth  exterior,  however,  was  a  deep  scheming  and  far- 
reaching  mind,  and  a  hard  and  cruel  disposition,  and  he  was  a 
much  more  dangerous  individual  to  fall  into  the  ill  graces  of 
than  Baker.  Baker  was  a  man  who,  under  some  circumstances, 
I  might  have  taken  a  genuine  liking  to ;  but  the  more  I  saw 
of  Winder  the  less  I  liked  him,  and  the  more  I  was  afraid  of 
him. 

BAKER'S  APPEARANCE  AND  CHARACTER. 

Baker  was  a  tolerably  fair-looking  man,  after  a  certain 
fashion.  He  was  a  returned  Californian,  having  resided  in  San 
Francisco  for  a  number  of  years  before  the  war,  and  having 
been  a  member  of  the  famous  vigilance  committee  which  made 
such  short  work  with  the  rogues  of  that  city  in  1856.  He  had 
the  bronzed  face  and  the  wiry  frame  of  a  western  pioneer,  and 
his  manners  were  marked  by  a  good  deal  of  far-western 
brusqueness.  His  hair  was  dark  and  thick,  and  he  wore  a  full 
and  rather  heavy  beard  j  but  his  eyes  were  the  most  expressive 


396  PLAYING   DOUBLE. 

feature  of  his  face.  These  were  a  cold  gray,  and  they  had  a 
peculiarly  sharp  and  piercing  expression,  especially  when  he 
was  talking  on  business.  He  also  had  a  particularly  sharp  and 
abrupt  manner  of  speaking  at  times;  and  more  than  once, 
when  I  have  had  reason  to  think  that  he  might  have  knowledge 
of  some  of  my  transactions  as  a  Confederate  secret  service 
agent,  I  have  felt  cold  creeps  all  over  me  as  he  looked  me 
straight  in  the  eyes  and  spoke  in  that  cutting  tone  of  voice  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  using  on  occasions. 

Colonel  Baker  was,  in  my  opinion,  a  first-rate  detective  of 
ficer,  and  nothing  more ;  for  something  more  is  necessary  in 
the  chief  of  a  secret  service  department  in  time  of  war  than  to 
be  a  good  hand  at  hunting  down  offenders.  Give  him  a  definite 
object  to  go  for,  and  a  very  slight  clew,  and  he  would,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  accomplish  a  creditable  piece  of  work.  He 
had,  however,  very  little  skill  in  starting  enterprises  for  him 
self.  General  Winder,  in  his  place,  would  have  made  Wash 
ington  a  much  more  uncomfortable  residence  for  Confederate 
spies  and  agents  than  it  was  during  the  war ;  and  the  fact  that 
I  was  able  to  play  double  with  the  colonel,  as  I  did  for  nearly  a 
year  and  a  half,  and  to  carry  on,  as  I  did,  a  number  of  impor 
tant  operations  on  behalf  of  the  Confederacy,  so  to  speak, 
under  his  very  nose,  was  not  very  creditable  to  him,  all  the 
circumstances  being  taken  into  consideration. 

Colonel  Baker,  however,  was  not  without  his  good  qualities, 
even  if  he  was  far  from  being  as  great  a  personage  as  he 
thought  he  was.  He  was  stern  and  severe,  but  he  was  a 
kinder  man  at  heart  than  General  Winder,  although  he  lacked 
the  intellectual  attainments  of  the  Confederate  officer.  With 
regard  to  the  relative  honesty  of  the  two,  it  is  perhaps  as  well 
that  I  should  express  no  opinion. 

APPLICATION  FOE  A  POSITION  IN  THE  FEDERAL  SECRET  SERVICE. 

On  being  introduced  to  Colonel  Baker  by  General  A.,  I 
asked  him  if  he  could  not  give  me  a  position  in  his  detective 
corps  in  some  capacity,  explaining  as  my  reason  for  making 
such  a  request  that,  having  lost  everything  through  the  rebel 
lion,  I  was  in  urgent  need  of  obtaining  some  remunerative 
employment  by  which  I  could  support  myself.  In  the  course 
of  the  conversation  with  him,  I  told  pretty  much,  the  same 
story  that  I  had  to  the  Federal  officers  at  Memphis.  I  was  of 
Spanish  extraction,  and  all  of  my  friends  and  relatives  were 


BAKER'S  CAUTION.  397 

either  in  Spain  or  Cuba.  My  husband,  who  was  a  United 
States  army  officer,  —  this  I  put  in  for  the  sake  of  obtaining 
the  corroboration  of  rny  friend,  the  general,  who  had  been 
acquainted  with  my  first  husband,  but  who  apparently  was 
not  aware  of.  the  fact  that  he  was  in  the  Confederate  service 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  —  had  died  about  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  and  I  had  been  plundered,  and  otherwise  so  badly  treated 
by  the  rebels,  that  I  had  been  compelled  to  come  North,  where 
I  had  resided  for  a  considerable  period,  but  without  being  able 
to  do  much  in  the  way  of  supporting  myself.  I  was  well 
acquainted  throughout  the  South,  having  travelled  a  great 
deal,  and  having  met  a  great  many  prominent  people,  and  I 
did  not  doubt  but  that  I  possessed  much  information  that 
would  be  of  value  to  the  government,  and  believed  that  I 
could  obtain  more,  as  I  thought  that  I  had  talents  which  would 
enable  me  to  do  good  service  either  as  a  spy  or  simply  as  a 
detective. 

In  the  course  of  a  somewhat  lengthy  conversation  with 
Colonel  Baker,  I  expressed  myself  with  considerable  bitter 
ness  with  regard  to  the  rebels,  and  the  treatment  I  professed 
to  have  received  at  their  hands,  and  endeavored  to  impress 
him  with  the  idea  that  I  was  quite  as  anxious  to  engage  in 
spy  duty  for  the  purpose  of  being  revenged  on  them,  as  for 
the  cash  I  expected  to  earn  by  the  faithful  performance  of  the 
particular  tasks  which  might  be  assigned  me. 

Baker  asked  me  a  good  many  questions  —  not  particularly 
skilful  ones  it  seemed  to  me — about  myself,  my  family,  how 
long  I  had  been  at  the  North,  what  induced  me  to  take  up 
with  the  idea  of  joining  the  secret  service  corps,  what 
employment  I  had  hitherto  been  engaged  in,  and  a  variety  of 
other  matters.  To  his  interrogatories  I  replied  promptly,  and 
with  seeming  frankness,  and  I  left  his  presence  tolerably  confi 
dent  that  he  believed  all  I  had  told  him,  and  that  I  had  made 
a  good  impression.  As  for  the  general,  he  seemed  to  be 
deeply  impressed,  and  advocated  my  cause  strongly,  urging 
Baker  to  give  me  an  engagement  without  further  delay.  The 
colonel,  however,  was  cautious  —  he  would  see  about  it ;  he 
would  talk  further  with  me  on  the  subject ;  he  did  not  know 
that  he  had  anything  he  could  give  me  to  do  just  at  present, 
but  he  might  have  need  of  me  shortly,  and  would  let  me  know 
when  he  wanted  me,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

After  we  left,  the  general  promised  to  speak  to  the  colonel 


398  MAKING  A  START. 

again,  and  said  lie  thought  he  could  induce  him  to  give  me 
an  engagement,  but  that,  at  any  rate,  he  would  try. 

This  interview  with  Colonel  Baker  convinced  me  that  he 
was  the  man  to  begin  with,  if  I  wanted  to  get  admission 
behind  the  scenes  at  Washington,  and  if  I  wanted  to  execute 
any  really  masterly  coup  at  the  North  in  behalf  of  the  Con 
federacy.  As  a  member  of  his  corps,  I  would  not  only  be  able 
to  do  many  things  that  would  be  impossible  otherwise,  but  I 
would  have  ample  opportunities  for  finding  out  a  good  many 
things  that  were  going  on,  with  regard  to  which  the  world  at 
large  was  happily  ignorant.  As  for  Baker  himself,  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  he  was  an  individual  wise  in  his  own  esteem, 
but  with  no  comprehensive  ideas,  whom  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  fool  to  the  top  of  his  bent.  All  that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  me  to  do,  in  case  he  employed  me,  would  be  the 
performance  of  some  real,  or  apparently  real  services  for  him, 
to  secure  his  fullest  confidence,  while  at  the  same  time  I  could 
carry  on  my  real  work  to  the  very  best  advantage. 

Having  waited  about  Washington  for  a  week  or  two,  without 
hearing  anything  from  Colonel  Baker,  and  the  general  having 
told  me  that  there  was  no  chance  for  me  just  at  present,  I 
decided  to  return  to  New  York,  as  I  thought,  from  a  hint 
given  me  in  a  letter  from  my  brother,  that  I  might  be  able  to 
commence  operations  there.  I  resolved,  however,  to  cultivate 
Baker's  acquaintance  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  but  thought 
that  perhaps  it  would  be  best  not  to  trouble  him  again  until  I 
had  some  definite  scheme  to  propose. 

CONFERENCES  WITH  CONFEDERATE  AGENTS. 

When  I  reached  New  York,  and  saw  my  brother,  he  was 
expecting  every  day  to  be  exchanged ;  and  he  told  me  that  he 
had  been  visited  by  several  Confederate  agents,  who  wanted 
him  to  try  and  carry  some  documents  through  when  he  went 
South.  He  was  afraid,  however,  to  attempt  anything  of  this 
kind,  and,  besides,  did  not  think  that  it  would  be  honorable 
under  the  circumstances.  Without  saying  anything  about  my 
plans  to  him,  therefore,  I  went  and  saw  the  agents  in  question, 
told  them  who  I  was,  referred  them  to  people  who  knew  me  in 
the  West,  and  in  a  general  way  disclosed  to  them  my  schemes 
for  aiding  the  Confederacy.  I  did  not,  however,  tell  them 
about  my  interview  with  Colonel  Baker,  or  that  I  had  the 


RECOGNIZED    AS   A   SECRET   AGENT.  399 

intention  of  becoming  an  employee  of  his.  This,  I  thought, 
was  a  matter  I  had  best  keep  to  myself  for  the  present,  for 
fear  of  accident. 

These  agents  were  exceedingly  glad  to  see  me,  and  had 
several  jobs  of  work  cut  out  which  they  were  anxious  that  I 
should  attend  to.  They  did  not  strike  me  as  being  very 
important,  but  I  thought  that  they  would  do  to  begin  with, 
and  that  they  would  aid  me  in  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
Confederate  working  force  in  the  North.  I,  therefore,  promised 
to  give  them  my  aid  so  soon  as  my  brother  should  leave  for 
the  South. 

They  then  evinced  a  great  eagerness  to  have  me  persuade 
my  brother  to  carry  some  despatches  through ;  but  I  said  that 
it  would  be  useless  to  ask  him,  and  that  the  most  I  could 
expect  of  him  was,  that  he  would  take  a  verbal  message  from 
myself  to  the  officials  who  knew  me  in  Richmond,  to  the 
effect  that  I  was  at  the  North,  endeavoring  to  aid  the  Con 
federate  cause  by  every  means  in  my  power,  and  filled  with 
zeal  to  do  whatever  was  to  be  done.  It  required  considerable 
persuasion  to  induce  my  brother  to  do  even  this  much,  but 
finally,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  he  consented. 

SECRET  SERVICE  OPERATIONS. 

Shortly  after  this  my  brother  went  South  on  a  cartel  of 
exchange,  and  in  due  time  I  received  information  that  my 
message  had  been  delivered,  and  that  I  was  recognized  as  a 
Confederate  secret  service  agent. 

In  the  mean  while  I  made  a  large  number  of  acquaintances 
among  the  adherents  of  both  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
governments,  and  did  a  great  deal  of  work  of  one  kind  or 
another.  None  of  my  performances,  however,  for  several 
months  were  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  special 
mention  in  these  pages,  and  their  chief  value  to  me  was,  that 
they  kept  me  employed,  and  taught  me  what  kind  of  work 
there  was  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  During  this  time  I  visited 
Washington  frequently,  and  always  made  it  a  point  to  see 
Colonel  Baker,  to  whom  I  furnished  a  number  of  bits  of  infor 
mation,  the  majority  of  which  were  of  no  particular  value  to 
him,  although  several  were  of  real  importance,  and  aided  him 
materially  in  his  effort  to  break  up  certain  fraudulent  practices, 
and  to  bring  the  rogues  to  justice. 


400  HOW  BAKER'S  CONFIDENCE  WAS  GAINED. 

By  this  means  I  retained  his  favor,  and  succeeded  in 
gaining  his  confidence  to  a  degree  that  the  reader  will 
probably  think  rather  astonishing,  considering  my  antecedents, 
and  the  kind  of  work  that  I  was  engaged  in  sub  rosa.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  Baker  did  not  know, 
and  could  not  know,  anything  of  my  previous  history  •  that  I 
had  been  highly  recommended  to  him,  and  that  I  was  con 
stantly  proving  useful  to  him.  Wherein  he  failed  in  astute 
ness,  was  in  permitting  me  to  carry  on  the  peculiar  operations 
I  did,  almost  under  his  eyes,  and  to  make  use  of  him,  and 
of  the  machinery  of  his  office,  for  the  accomplishment  of  my 
plans. 

At  each  succeeding  interview  I  could  see  that  Baker  was 
becoming  more  and  more  favorably  impressed  with  me,  and  I 
did  not  doubt  that  I  would  finally  succeed  in  securing  him  as 
an  unconcious  ally  of  myself  and  my  co-workers. 

My  grand  opportunity  at  length  did  arrive,  and  the  cunning 
secret  service  chief  fell  into  the  trap  laid  for  him  as  innocent 
ly  and  unsuspectingly  as  if  he  had  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing  as  a  spy  in  his  life.  The  colonel,  as  I  have  before  re 
marked,  was  not  a  bad  sort  of  a  fellow  in  his  way ;  and  as  I 
had  a  sincere  regard  for  him,  I  am  sorry  he  is  not  alive  now, 
that  he  might  be  able  to  read  this  ijarrative,  and  so  learn  how 
completely  he  was  taken  in,  and  by  a  woman,  too.  He  was  a 
smart  man,  but  not  smart  enough  for  all  occasions. 

ONE  OF  BAKER'S  GRIEVANCES. 

I  have  heard  Colonel  Baker  frequently  complain  bitterly 
of  the  manner  in  which  so  many  of  his  neatly  laid  plans  were 
revealed  to  the  very  persons  whom  he  was  most  anxious 
should  know  nothing  about  them,  almost  as  soon  as  they  were 
arranged ;  and  I  have  endeavored  to  console  him,  and  to  sug 
gest  reasons  for  the  phenomena,  but  was  never  able  to  quite 
make  him  understand  the  mystery.  The  reader  of  this  narra 
tive  will  know,  as  Colonel  Baker  never  was  able  to,  why  some 
of  his  arrangements  for  capturing  certain  people  who  were 
making  themselves  troublesome  to  the  government  which  he 
represented  came  to  nothing;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
other  detectives,  who  are  wise  in  their  own  conceit,  will  be 
edified  by  the  revelations  herein  made. 

In  the  chapters  immediately  following,  I  will  relate  the 
particulars  of  a  series  of  operations,  which,  in  many  respects, 


CURIOUS.  401 

were  the  most  important  of  my  career.  The  grand  scheme 
which  I  labored  to  promote  was  a  failure,  but  the  work  which 
I  was  assigned  to  do,  in  connection  with  it,  was  thoroughly 
well  done,  and,  had  the  others  performed  their  part  as  well  as 
I  performed  mine,  the  ending  of  the  war  would  probably  have 
been  very  different  from  what  it  was.  It  would,  however, 
scarcely  have  been  possible  for  me  to  have  worked  with  the 
signal  efficiency  I  did,  had  I  not  secured  the  aid  of  Colonel 
Baker ;  and,  that  the  chief  detective  officer  of  the  Federal 
government  should  have  been  induced,  unconsciously  and 
unsuspectingly,  to  assist  a  rebel  enterprise  of  the  dangerous 
character  of  this  one,  was  one  of  the  most  curious  of  the 
many  curious  things  that  happened  during  the  war. 

Before  embarking  in  this  enterprise,  I  succeeded  in  making 
the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  influential  people  in  Wash 
ington  and  elsewhere,  and  was  engaged  in  operations  of  no 
little  importance,  the  recital  of  which  will,  I  think,  prove 
both  entertaining  and  edifying  to  the  public,  as  it  will  show 
what  consummate  scoundrels  were  filling  high  places  under 
the  Federal  government  during  the  war,  and  how  the  people 
who  believed  the  war  to  be  a  just  one,  and  were  making  every 
sacrifice  to  carry  it  on,  were  betrayed  by  some  of  these  most 
trusted  servants. 

As  these  operations,  however,  were  connected  with  others 
of  a  much  later  date,  I  will,  in  order  not  to  break  the  thread 
of  my  story,  defer  narrating  them  at  present,  merely  stating 
here  that  the  detection  of  the  gigantic  frauds  that  were  being 
perpetrated  was  one  of  the  most  creditable  events  of  Colonel 
Baker's  career.  I  say  this,  notwithstanding  that  I  was  work 
ing  against  him  at  the  time,  and  was  implicated  in  the  trans 
actions  alluded  to.  My  position  with  regard  to  these  matters 
was  very  different  from  that  of  the  men  with  whom  I  co 
operated.  I  did  certain  things,  and  would  do  them  again 
under  similar  circumstances,  because  I  think  that  in  time  of 
war  ,it  is  right  and  proper  to  take  every  advantage  of  the 
enemy ;  but  I  had  so  little  regard  for  my  chief  associates,  that, 
although  I  took  good  care  to  keep  out  of  Baker's  sight,  and 
had  no  desire  to  have  him  capture  me,  I  could  not  help  wish 
ing,  when  I  heard  that  he  had  his  clutches  on  them,  that  he 
would  succeed  in  having  them  punished  according  to  their 
deserts. 

It  was  most  discreditable  in  certain  of  the  principal  officers 
of  the  government,  and  in  certain  members  of  Congress,  that 
26 


402  WHOLESALE   SWINDLING  PROTECTED. 

these  people  were  permitted  to  have  such  opportunities  for 
wholesale  swindling,  and  that  after  they  were  detected,  they 
were  not  only  not  brought  to  punishment,  but  some  of  them 
were  even  continued  in  office.  Colonel  Baker  was  indignant, 
and  justly  so,  that  his  efforts  were  brought  to  nought  through 
the  interference  of  politicians,  who  were  more  afraid  of  having 
discredit  brought  on  the  party  they  represented,  by  the 
exposures  which  he  made  of  corruption  and  scoundrelism  in 
high  places,  than  they  were  solicitous  for  honesty  and  effi 
ciency  in  the  administration  of  some  of  the  most  important 
affairs  of  the  government.  Baker  was  not  only  interfered 
with,  and  his  plans  balked,  but  his  opponents  even  went  so 
far  as  to  persecute  him,  by  bringing  a  charge  of  conspiracy-, 
and  by  compelling  him  to  defend  himself  in  the  courts. 

I  have  known  Colonel  Baker  to  do  some  things  that  were 
scarcely  defensible,  but,  with  regard  to  this  matter,  I  have  the 
best  means  of  knowing  that  he  was  entirely  in  the  right,  and 
that,  had  he  been  permitted  to  do  as  he  wished,  he  would  have 
effectually  stopped  rascalities  of  the  worst  kind,  and  have 
performed  services  that  would  have  entitled  him  to  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  his  countrymen.  It  was  utterly  disgraceful  that 
he  should  have  been  subjected  to  persecutions  for  doing  his 
simple  duty,  especially  as  his  investigations  were  commenced, 
and  for  a  considerable  time  carried  on,  at  the  instance  of  the 
very  men  who  turned  upon  him  so  soon  as  his  labors  threat 
ened  to  create  a  public  scandal  that  might  be  disadvantageous 
to  the  political  prospects  of  some  of  them.  They  were  will 
ing  enough  to  hunt  down,  and  to  punish  rascality,  so  long  as 
they  and  their  friends  were  not  injured  in  any  way,  but  so 
soon  as  Baker  began  to  prove  himself  in  earnest,  and  deter 
mined  to  bring  the  rascals  to  justice,  no  matter  who  might  be 
hurt,  the  very  men  who  had  secured  his  services  turned  upon 
him,  took  sides  with  the  rogues,  and  did  their  best  to  destroy 
him. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

VISIT  TO   RICHMOND   AND   CANADA. 

An  Attack  on  the  Rearof  the  Enemy  in  Contemplation.  —  The  Difficulties 
in  the  Way  of  its  Execution.  —  What  it  was  expected  to  accomplish.  — 
The  Federals  to  be  placed  between  two  Fires.  —  I  have  an  Interview  with 
Colonel  Baker,  and  propose  a  Trip  to  Richmond.  —  He  assents,  and  fur 
nishes  me  with  Passes  and  Means  to  make  the  Journey. —  I  run  through 
the  Lines,  and  reach  Richmond  in  Safety.  —  I  return  by  a  roundabout 
Route,  laden  with  Despatches,  Letters,  Commercial  Orders,  Money 
Drafts,  and  other  valuable  Documents.  —  I  am  delayed  in  Baltimore,  and 
fall  short  of  Money.  —  The  Difficulties  I  had  in  getting  my  Purse  filled. 
—  Sickness. —  I  visit  Lewes,  Delaware,  and  deliver  Instructions  to  a 
Blockade  Runner.  —  On  reaching  New  York  I  learn  that  a  Detective  is 
after  me.  —  I  start  for  Canada,  and  meeting  the  Detective  in  the  Cars, 
strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  him.  He  shows  me  a  Photograph  sup 
posed  to  be  of  myself,  and  tells  me  what  his  Plans  are.  —  The  Detective 
baffled,  and  my  safe  Arrival  in  Canada.  —  Hearty  Welcome  by  the  Con 
federates  there.  —  I  transact  my  Business  and  prepare  to  return. 

MAGNIFICENT  scheme  was  on  foot  during 
the  summer  and  fall  of  1864,  for  making  an 
attack  upon  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  which,  if  it 
had  been  carried  out  with  skill  and  determina 
tion  might  have  given  a  very  different  ending 
to  the  war.  As  it  was,  the  very  inefficient 
attempt  that  was  made  created  an  excitement  that 
almost  amounted  to  a  panic,  and  seemed  to  show  how 
effective  a  really  well-directed  blow,  such  as  was  in 
tended,  would  have  been.  Such  schemes  as  this,  how 
ever,  are  always  extremely  difficult  of  execution,  and  this 
one  was  particularly  so,  on  .account  of  the  necessity  which 
existed  for  the  most  profound  secrecy  in  all  the  movements, 
up  to  the  very  moment  when  the  blow  was  to  be  struck.  A 
large  extent  of  country  was  to  be  operated  upon,  several 
distinct  movements,  of  equal  importance,  were  to  be  carried 
on  at  the  same  time,  the  failure  of  any  one  of  which  would 
imperil  everything,  and  a  neutral  soil  was  to  be  the  base  of 
operations. 

403 


404  CONCERNING  "COPPERHEADS." 

That  a  considerable  number  of  persons  should  be  informed 
of  the  essential  points  of  the  proposed  campaign  could  not  be 
avoided,  and,  of  course,  each  person  admitted  to  the  secret 
diminished  the  chances  of  it  being  kept ;  for,  even  were  trai 
tors  less  plenty  than  they  usually  are,  the  fact  that  we  were 
arranging  our  plans  and  making  our  preparations  in  the  midst 
of  enemies,  or  of  half-hearted  friends,  rendered  it  scarcely 
within  the  range  of  possibility  that  some  unlucky  word  or 
indiscreet  expression  would  not  ,give  some  one  a  hint  of  what 
was  going  on,  and  enable  preparations  to  meet  the  attack  to 
be  made. 

Besides  all  this,  two  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  success 
existed.  There  was  no  thoroughness  of  organization, —  it 
was  impossible,  under  the  circumstances,  that  there  should 
have  been,  —  and  there  was  no  recognized  leader  whose 
authority  was  admitted  by  all,  and  who  had  the  direction 
of  all  the  movements. 

THE  "  COPPERHEADS." 

The  blow,  therefore,  was  to  be,  to  a  very  great  extent,  a 
random  one,  struck  in  the  dark,  and  with  no  assurances  what 
ever  that  the  results  expected  from  it  would  follow.  We  were 
utterly  unable  to  tell  how  much  we  could  count  on  in  the  way 
of  active  assistance  from  the  Southern  sj^mpathizers,  or  "  Cop 
perheads,"  as  they  were  called.  For  my  own  part,  I  did  not 
rely  greatly  upon  anything  they  could  or  would  do,  and  am 
now  very  well  satisfied  that  it  was  a  piece  of  supreme  folly  to 
have  expected  anything  from  them. 

These  people  were  really  traitors  both  to  the  South  and  the 
North,  and  in  the  long  run  they  did  the  cause  of  the  Confed 
eracy  far  more  harm  than  they  did  it  good.  They  professed 
to  believe  that  the  South  was  right,  and  yet  they  were  not 
willing  to  take  up  arms  for  her,  or,  with  very  few  excep 
tions,  to  do  anything  practical  for  her  that  would  render 
themselves  liable  to  get  into  the  least  trouble  with  the 
Federal  government.  They  annoyed  the  government  by 
their  captious  criticisms  of  all  its  actions,  by  opposing  the 
prosecution  of  the  war  in  every  way  that  they  could  with 
safety  to  themselves,  and  by  loud  expressions  of  Southern 
sympathy.  All  they  accomplished,  however,  was  a  prolonga 
tion  of  the  war,  and  the  disfranchisement  of  nearly  the  entire 
white  population  of  the  South  after  the  war  was  ended  ;  for 


BETWEEN   TWO   FIRES.  405 

to  them,  more  than  to  the  Southerners  themselves,  was  due 
the  imposition  of  the  hard  terms  which  were  the  price  of 
peace.  To  the  "  Copperheads,"  therefore,  as  a  class,  the 
South  owe  little  or  nothing  ;  and,  according  to  my  view,  they 
were  the  kind  of  friends  that  people  in  difficulties  had  best 
be  without. 

THE  PROJECTED  ATTACK  BY  WAY  OP  THE  LAKES. 

The  great  scheme  to  which  I  have  alluded  was  no  less  than 
an  attack  upon  the  country  bordering  upon  the  great  lakes.; 
the  release  of  the  Confederate  prisoners  confined  at  Johnson's 
Island  in  Lake  Erie,  near  Sandusky,  Ohio,  and  at  other  local 
ities  ;  their  organization  into  an  army,  which  was  to-  engage 
in  the  work  of  devastating  the  country,  burning  the  cities  and 
towns,  seizing  upon  forts,  arsenals,  depots,  and  manufactories 
of  munitions  of  war,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  them,  if  prac 
ticable,  or  of  destroying  them  ;  and,  in  fine,  of  creating  such  a 
diversion  in  their  rear  as  would  necessitate  the  withdrawal 
of  a  large  force  from  the  front. 

A  DIVERSION  IN  THE  REAR  OP  THE  ENEMY. 

It  was  expected,  in  event  of  the  success  of  the  plan,  that 
the  Federal  forces  would  be  placed  between  two  fires,  and 
that  the  commanders  of  the  Confederate  armies  in  the  South 
and  in  the  North  would  be  able  between  them  to  crush  the 
enemy,  and  dictate  terms  of  peace,  or  at  least  give  a  new 
phase  to  the  war,  by  transferring  it  from  the  impoverished  and 
desolated  South  to  the  rich,  prosperous,  and  fertile  North.  As 
I  have  before  stated,  much  reliance  was  felt  by  many  on 
obtaining  something  more  than  mere  s}rmpathy  from  the 
"  Copperheads."  I,  for  one,  however,  had  no  great  expecta 
tions  that  any  considerable  number  of  recruits  would  be 
gained  on  Northern  soil,  and  founded  my  hopes  more  on  the 
personal  efforts  of  true  and  tried  Southern  men,  than  upon 
assistance  of  any  kind  from  those  who  were  not  closely 
identified  with  Southern  interests. 

While  the  plans  for  the  proposed  grand  attack  in  the  rear 
was  maturing,  I  was  asked  to  attempt  a  trip  to  Richmond,  and 
consented  without  hesitation.  I  was  to  consult  with,  and 
receive  final  instructions  from  the  Richmond  authorities,  with 
regard  to  the  proposed  raid  on  the  lake  shores,  and  was  also  to 


406  MAKING   USE   OF   COLONEL   BAKER. 

attend  to  a  variety  of  commercial  and  other  matters,  and 
especially  to  obtain  letters  and  despatches  for  Canada. 

Now  was  my  time  to  make  use  of  Colonel  Baker;  and  I 
accordingly  resolved  to  see  what  I  fcould  do  with  him,  with 
out  more  delay.  Having  received  my  papers  and  instruc 
tions,  therefore,  I  went  to  Washington,  and  called  on  the 
colonel,  who  received  me  as  politely  as  he  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  doing  of  late,  and  asked  what  he  could  do  for  me  ; 
for  he  saw,  by  my  manner,  that  I  had  some  definite  project 
on  hand,  and  began  to  believe  that  I  really  meant  serious 
business. 

In  order  to  understand  the  situation  from  Colonel  Baker's 
point  of  view,  it  may  be  necessary  to  state,  that  more  than 
once  rumors  that  attempts  to  liberate  the  Confederate  prison 
ers  were  to  be  made,  had  been  in  circulation,  and  that  Baker, 
as  I  knew,  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  effect  the  arrest  of 
some  of  the  more  active  of  the  Confederate  agents  engaged  in 
this  and  similar  schemes. 

A  CONFIDENTIAL  TALK  WITH  BAKER. 

I  told  him,  therefore,  that  I  had  obtained  information  to  the 
effect  that  a  noted  Confederate  spy  had  been  captured,  and 
was  now  in  one  of  the  prisons,  from  whence  he  could  doubt 
less  find  means  to  communicate  with  Confederates  outside. 
My  proposition  was  that  I  should  go  to  Richmond,  where,  by 
passing  myself  off  as  a  Confederate  among  people  with  whom 
I  was  acquainted,  I  would  not  only,  in  all  probability,  suc 
ceed  in  finding  out  exactly  who  this  man  was,  and  where  he 
was,  but  what  he  and  his  confederates  were  trying  to  do.  I 
suggested,  also,  that  I  could  most  likely  pick  up  other  informa 
tion  of  sufficient  value  to  pay  for  whatever  the  trip  would  cost 
the  government. 

When  I  had  explained  what  I  proposed  to  do,  Baker  said, 
"  I  am  afraid  if  you  attempt  to  run  through  the  lines  the  rebs 
will  capture  you ;  if  they  do,  they  will  use  you  rough.77 

I  replied,  "  I  am  not  afraid  to  take  the  risk  if  you  will  only 
give  me  the  means  of  making  the  trip,  and  attend  to  getting 
me  through  the  Federal  lines." 

"  It  will  be  a  troublesome  thing  to  get  you  through  our 
lines,"  said  Baker,  "  for  it  don't  do  to  let  everybody  know 
what  is  going  on  when  a  bit  of  business  like  this  is  on  hand  ; 
and,  after  you  pass  our  lines  you  will  have  to  get  through 


BAKER   ENTRAPPED.  407 

those  of  the  rebels,  and  that  you  will  find  no  easy  job,  I  can 
tell  you,  for  they  are  getting  more  and  more  suspicious  and 
particular  every  day." 

"  0,  as  for  that,"  said  I,  "  I  can,  if  it  is  necessary  to  do  so, 
go  to  Havana,  where  my  relatives  are  living,  and  try  and  run 
through  from  there.  I  believe,  however,  that  I  can  get 
through  from  here  if  I  make  the  right  kind  of  an  effort;  at  any 
rate,  I  would  like  to  make  the  attempt,  if  only  to  show  you 
what  I  am  capable  of." 

The  colonel  laughed  at  my  enthusiasm,  and  said,  "  Well, 
you  are  a  plucky  little  woman;  and  as  you  seem  to  be  so  anx 
ious  to  spy  out  what  the  rebs  are  doing,  I  have  half  a  notion 
to  give  you  a  chance.  You  must  not  blame  me,  however,  if 
you  get  caught,  and  they  take  a  notion  to  hang  you  ;  for,  you 
know,  that  is  a  way  they  have  of  dealing  with  people  who 
engage  in  this  sort  of  business,  and  your  sex  won't  save  you." 

"  0,"  said  I,  "  I  don't  think  that  my  neck  was  ever  made  to 
be  fitted  in  a  noose,  and  I  am  willing  to  risk  it." 

The  result  of  the  conference  was,  that  Colonel  Baker  finally 
consented  to  let  me  try  my  luck,  and  he  gave  me  a  variety 
of  instructions  about  how  to  proceed,  and  about  the  par 
ticular  kind  of  information  I  was  to  endeavor  to  obtain.  I 
saw  very  plainly  that  he  did  not  entirely  trust  me,  or,  rather, 
that  he  was  afraid  to  trust  me  too  much ;  but  I  attributed  his 
lack  of  confidence  in  me  to  the  fact  that  I  was  as  yet  untried, 
and  consequently  might  be  led  by  my  enthusiasm  into  under 
rating  the  difficulties  of  the  task  I  was  undertaking,  rather 
than  to  any  doubt  in  his  mind  with  regard  to  my  fidelity.  I 
resolved,  therefore,  to  give  him  such  proofs  of  my  abilities,  as 
well  as  of  my  fidelity,  as  would  insure  me  his  entire  confi 
dence  in  the  future. 

BAKER  CONCLUDES  TO  SEND  ME  TO  RICHMOND. 

It  having  been  determined  that  I  should  make  the  trip, 
Baker  told  me  to  get  ready  for  my  journey  immediately,  and, 
in  the  mean  time,  he  could  procure  me  the  necessary  passes  to 
enable  me  to  get  through  the  Federal  lines,  and  money  to  meet 
my  expenses. 

When  we  next  met,  he  gave  me  five  thousand  dollars  in 
bogus  Confederate  bills,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in 
greenbacks,  which  he  said  ought  to  be  enough  to  see  me 
through  all  right.  I  suggested  that  if  the  Confederates 


408  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  LINES. 

caught  me  passing  bogus  currency,  they  would  be  apt  to  deal 
harder  with  me  than  they  would  simply  as  a  spy.  Baker 
laughed  at  this,  and  said  that  that  was  one  of  the  risks  I  must 
run,  but  that  he  did  not  think  there  was  any  danger,  as 
these  bogus  notes  passed  more  readily  in  the  Confederacy 
than  the  genuine  ones  did,  which  he  could  only  account  for 
on  the  supposition  that  the  Confederacy  was  a  bogus  govern 
ment.  He  seemed  to  think  that  this  was  rather  a  good  joke, 
although  I  was  not  able  to  see  exactly  where  the  laugh  came 
in,  and  am  afraid  that  I  must  have  struggled  hard  with  the 
faint  smile  that  I  attempted. 

Everything  being  ready,  off  I  started,  and  had  but  little 
difficulty  in  getting  through  the  Federal  lines  on  the  passes 
furnished  me  by  Baker.  To  get  through  those  of  the  Confed 
erate  forces  was  a  more  troublesome  operation;  but,  as  when 
I  came  to  the  outposts,  I  was  able  to  declare  my  real  errand,  I 
was  not  seriously  impeded,  and  once  in  Richmond  I  was,  of 
course,  perfectly  at  home. 

IN  RICHMOND. 

On  my  arrival  in  that  city,  I  immediately  communicated 
with  the  authorities,  delivered  the  messages  and  despatches 
submitted  to  me,  sent  letters  to  merchants  in  Wilmington  and 
Savannah,  as  I  had  been  directed  to  do,  and  gave  all  the 
information  I  could  about  the  condition  of  things  at  the 
North,  the  proposed  raid,  and  other  matters. 

While  waiting  to  hear  from  the  men  in  Wilmington  and 
Savannah,  and  for  the  preparation  of  such  instructions  as  I 
was  to  carry  back  from  the  Richmond  people,  I  found  myself 
falling  short  in  funds,  and  accordingly  tried  to  see  what 
could  be  done  with  Baker's  bogus  Confederate  notes.  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  passing  them,  and  consequently  invested  the 
entire  batch  in  greenbacks,  but,  as  the  United  States  promises 
to  pay  were  worth  more,  even  in  Richmond,  than  those  of  the 
Confederacy,  I  did  not  make  an  even  exchange,  by  a  great  deal. 
Indeed,  the  greenbacks  which  I  pocketed  by  this  operation 
amounted  to  a  very  moderate  sum,  all  of  which  I  knew  would 
be  required  for  my  return  journey. 

Within  a  few  days  I  heard,  by  special  messenger,  from  the 
parties  in  Wilmington  and  Savannah.  This  man  delivered  to 
me  a  package  which  was  to  be  taken  through  to  Canada,  and 
also  orders  and  sailing  directions  for  certain  blockade-runners, 


CONTRABAND    OF   WAR.  409 

and  drafts  which  were  to  be  cashed,  and  the  money  disposed 
of  in  certain  ways  for  the  benefit  of  the  Confederate  cause. 
I  also  received  directions  from  parties  in  Richmond  to  confer 
with  the  Confederate  agents,  and,  if  agreeable  on  all  sides,  to 
visit  the  prisons ;  it  being  thought  that,  as  a  woman,  I  would 
be  able  to  obtain  admission,  and  be  permitted  to  speak  to  the 
prisoners,  where  a  man  would  be  denied. 

Then,  freighted  with  my  small,  but  precious  package,  sev 
eral  important  despatches,  and  other  papers,  and  a  number  of 
letters  for  Confederates  in  Canada,  I  started  to  return.  I 
would  have  been  a  rich  prize  for  the  Federals,  if  they  should 
capture  me ;  and,  while  on  my  way  back,  I  wondered  what 
Colonel  Baker  would  think  and  say,  in  case  some  of  his  em 
issaries  should  chance  to  lay  hands  upon  me,  and  conduct  me 
into  his  presence,  laden  with  all  this  contraband  of  war. 

EETURN  NORTH  BY  WAY  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

In  consideration  of  the  value  of  the  baggage  I  was  carry 
ing,  it  was  thought  to  be  too  great  a  risk  for  me  to  attempt  to 
reach  the  North  by  any  of  the  more  direct  routes,  and  I  was 
consequently  compelled  to  make  a  long  detour  by  way  of 
Parkersburg,  in  West  Virginia.  This  involved  a  long  and 
very  tiresome  journey,  but  it  was  undoubtedly  the  best  course 
for  me  to  pursue. 

The  wisdom  in  choosing  this  route  was  demonstrated  by 
the  result,  and  I  succeeded  in  reaching  Parkersburg  without 
being  suspected  in  the  least  by  any  one.  At  that  place  I 
found  General  Kelley  in  command,  and  from  him  procured 
transportation  to  Baltimore,  on  the  strength  of  my  being  an 
attache  of  Colonel  Baker's  corps,  which  was  a  very  satisfac 
tory  stroke  of  business  for  me,  as  it  saved  both  trouble  and 
expense. 

The  instructions  under  which  I  was  moving  required  me  to 
go  to  Baltimore,  and  from  there  inform  the  different  parties 
interested  of  my  arrival,  and  wait  to  hear  from  them  as  to 
whether  they  were  ready  to  meet  me  at  the  appointed  places, 
before  proceeding  farther.  I  was  also  to  wait  there  for  some 
drafts  for  large  sums,  which  were  to  be  cashed  in  New  York, 
and  the  money  taken  to  Canada.  This  involved  considerable 
delay,  which  was  particularly  unpleasant  just  then,  as  I  was 
getting  very  short  of  funds,  and  was,  moreover,  quite  sick, 
the  excitement  I  had  gone  through  with;  —  for  this  was  a 


410  PECUNIARY  ASSISTANCE. 

more  exciting  life  even  than  soldiering,  —  and  the  fatigues  of 
a  very  long  and  tedious  journey,  having  quite  used  me  up. 

.    SHORT  OF  FUNDS. 

On  arriving  in  Baltimore,  fearing  that  I  would  not  have 
enough  money  to  see  me  through  until  I  could  obtain  a  remit 
tance,  I  went  to  a  store  kept  by  a  lady  to  whom  I  was  told  to 
appeal  in  event  of  being  detained  on  account  of  lack  of  funds, 
and  explaining  who  I  was,  and  the  business  I  was  on,  asked 
her  if  she  would  not  assist  me.  She  looked  very  hard  at  me, 
asked  me  a  great  many  questions,  and  requested  me  to  show 
her  my  papers.  I  said  that  this  was  impossible,  as  not  only 
my  honor  and  life  were  at  stake,  but  that  interests  of  great 
moment  were  involved  in  the  preservation  of  the  secrets  I 
had  in  possession. 

This,  I  thought,  ought  to  have  satisfied  her;  but  it  appar 
ently  did  not,  for  she  evidently  regarded  me  with  extreme 
suspicion.  Her  indisposition  to  trust  me  might  have  been 
caused  by  my  rather  dilapidated  appearance,  although  my 
soiled  travelling  dress  ought  to  have  been  proof  of  the  fact 
that  I  had  just  been  making  a  long,  and  very  rough  journey. 
Finally,  another  lady  coming  in,  she  walked  back  in  the  store 
with  her,  and  I,  supposing  that  she  did  not  intend  to  take  any 
more  notice  of  me,  arose  to  go  out.  She,  however,  seeing 
this  movement,  called  for  me  to  wait  a  moment.  Shortly 
after  she  returned,  and,  handing  me  a  sum  of  money,  said, 
"  I  am  a  Union  woman ;  but  as  you  seem  to  be  in  distress,  I 
will  have  to  aid  you.  This  is  as  much  as  I  can  afford  to  give.'7 

I,  of  course,  understood  that  this  speech  was  intended  for 
any  other  ears  than  mine  that  might  be  listening,  and,  merely 
giving  her  a  meaning  glance,  walked  out  of  the  store,  without 
saying  anything  further. 

Having  obtained  this  money,  I  went  back  to  Barnum's 
Hotel,  where  I  was  stopping,  feeling  considerably  relieved,  so 
far  as  the  exigencies  of  the  moment  were  concerned,  but  not 
knowing  to  what  poverty  I  might  yet  be  reduced  before  I 
received  my  expected  remittances.  At  first  I  was  very 
much  vexed  at  the  behavior  of  the  lady  in  the  store,  as  I 
thought  that  the  statement  I  made  her,  and  the  names  of  per 
sons  I  mentioned  as  having  referred  me  to  her,  ought  to  have 
gained  me  her  confidence  at  once.  On  reflection,  however,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  might  not  be  so  much  to 


A   BLOCKADE-RUNNER.  411 

blame  after  all,  as  she  was  obliged  to  be  careful,  on  the  one 
hand,  not  to  be  imposed  upon,  and,  on  the  other,  not  to  be 
caught  having  secret  dealings  with  the  Confederates. 

ILLNESS. 

That  night  I  was  so  sick  that  I  had  to  send  for  a  doctor. 
I  offered  him  my  watch  for  his  services,  stating  that  I  was  out 
of  funds,  and  was  detained  in  Baltimore  through  the  non- 
arrival  of  money  which  I  was  expecting.  He,  however, 
refused  to  take  it,  and  said  that  I  might  pay  him  if  I  ever  was 
able,  but  that  it  would  not  matter  a  great  deal  one  way  or 
the  other.  The  next  day  I  was  considerably  better,  and  was 
able  to  go  about  a  little,  and  I  continued  to  improve  with  rest 
and  quiet. 

While  stopping  at  Barnum's  Hotel,  I  became  acquainted 
with  a  young  captain  in  the  Federal  army,  and,  as  I  made  a 
practice  of  doing  with  all  Federal  officers,  —  I  did  not  know 
when  they  might  be  useful  to  me,  —  I  courted  his  friendship, 
and  told  him  a  story  about  myself  similar  to  that  I  had  told 
on  several  other  occasions  with  which  the  reader  is  familiar, 
and  was  especially  bitter  in  my  denunciations  of  the  rebels. 
The  captain  was  so  affected  by  my  pitiful  narrative,  that  he 
introduced  me  to  General  E.  B.  Tyler,  who  was  very  affable 
and  courteous,  and  who,  learning  that  I  was  anxious  to  travel 
northward,  and  was  short  of  money,  kindly  procured  for  me  a 
pass  to  New  York. 

Finally,  I  received  notice  that  one  of  the  blockade-runners, 
with  whom  I  was  to  communicate,  was  at  Lewes,  Delaware, 
and,  on  proceeding  to  that  place,  found  an  English  brig,  the 
captain  of  which  was  anxiously  waiting  to  receive  instruc 
tions  as  to  what  port  he  was  to  sail  for.  The  cargo  was  prin 
cipally  powder,  clothing,  and  drugs,  and  the  captain  was 
exceedingly  glad  to  see  me,  as  he  wanted  to  get  away  as  fast 
as  he  could,  there  being  a  liability  that  the  Federal  authorities 
might  pounce  upon  him  at  any  moment.  I  accordingly  gave 
him  his  sailing  papers,  which  contained  directions  for  him  to 
proceed  to  Wadling's  Island,  on  the  north  of  Cuba,  where  he 
was  to  transfer  his  cargo  to  another  vessel,  which  was  to  run 
for  any  port  it  could  make  in  the  Confederacy.  The  captain 
handed  me  the  cards  of  several  houses  in  Liverpool  and 
Havre,  which  were  extensively  engaged  in  blockade-running, 
and  I  bade  him  adieu,  wishing  him  a  safe  and  pleasant  trip. 


412  IN  DANGER. 

This  errand  having  been  satisfactorily  despatched,  I  went 
to  Philadelphia,  where  I  took  a  room  at  the  Continental  Hotel, 
and  telegraphed  for  my  papers,  money  package,  &c.,  to  be 
forwarded  to  me  from  New  York  by  express.  The  next 
morning  I  received,  in  reply  to  this,  my  expected  drafts,  and 
also  the  following  characteristic  letter :  — 

"  QUEBEC,  CANADA. 

"  MRS.  SUE  BATTLE  :     You  will  find  enclosed  a  card  of  your 

government   agent  here,  B .     Any  orders  you  have  for 

your  government,  if  forwarded,  we  will  execute  and  despatch 
quickly,  according  to  your  instructions.  Messrs.  B.  &  T. 
have  several  clippers,  which  they  will  put  in  the  trade,  if 
desired.  I  will  drink  your  ladyship's  good  health  in  a  bottle 
of  good  old  Scotch  ale.  Let  us  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest 
convenience.  I  will  await  your  answer  to  return  to  Europe. 
With  great  respect,  and  with  hopes  of  success, 

"  I  am;  madam,  yours  truly,  R.  W.  L." 

BACK  IN  NEW  YORK. 

I  now  proceeded,  without  further  delay,  to  New  York, 
where  I  was  met,  at  the  Desbrosses  Street  ferry,  by  my  asso 
ciate  in  that  city,  who  conducted  me  to  Taylor's  Hotel,  where 
he  had  engaged  a  room  for  me.  He  said  that  he  had  been 
getting  somewhat  anxious  for  my  safety,  the  more  especially 
as  he  was  informed  that  the  detectives  had  received,  some 
information  of  my  doings,  and  were  on  the  watch  for  me. 
This  made  me  a  trifle  uneasy,  as  I  did  not  know  but  my 
friend,  Colonel  Baker,  had  discovered  some  facts  about  me 
which  had  served  to  convince  him  that  I  was  not  likely  to  be 
as  valuable  a  member  of  his  corps  as  he  had  supposed  I  would 
when  he  started,  me  on  my  Richmond  trip.  Since  my  return 
to  the  North  I  had  been  endeavoring  to  keep  myself  con 
cealed  from  Baker  and  all  his  people,  as  I  did  not  wish  to 
renew  my  acquaintance  with  the  colonel  until  I  had  visited 
Canada.  That  accomplished,  I  proposed  to  see  him  again, 
and  to  make  use  of  his  good  offices  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
into  execution  a  still  more  daring  scheme. 

My  New  York  accomplice  said  that  he  did  not  think  I  was 
in  any  immediate  danger,  although  I  would  have  to  take  care 
of  myself.  He  himself  had  seen  one  of  the  detectives  who 
were  on  my  track,  and,  while  I  was  evidently  the  person  he 


A  DETECTIVE  ON  THE  WATCH.  413 

was  after,  the  description  he  had  of  me  was  a  very  imperfect 
one;  so  that,  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  skill,  I  ought  to 
be  able  to  evade  him.  To  put  him  on  the  wrong  track,  my 
accomplice  had  told  this  detective  that  he  thought  he  knew 
the  person  he  was  searching  for,  and  had  procured  a  photo 
graph  of  a  very  different  looking  woman,  and  given  it  to 
him. 

Having  cashed  my  drafts,  and  gotten  everything  ready,  I 
started  for  Canada,  carrying,  in  addition  to  valuable  letters, 
orders,  and  packages,  the  large  sum  of  eighty-two  thousand 
dollars  in  my  satchel.  Mr.  L.,  the  correspondent  whose  letter 
has  been  quoted,  was  requested,  by  a  telegraphic  despatch,  to 
meet  me  on  my  arrival  in  Canada. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  great  value  of  the  bag 
gage  I  was  carrying  would  not  have  disturbed  my  peace  of 
mind ;  but  I  knew  that,  in  addition  to  the  money  I  had  with 
me,  my  capture  would  involve  the  officers  of  the  Federal 
government  obtaining  possession  of  papers  of  the  utmost 
importance,  from  which  they  would  scarcely  fail  to  gain  quite 
sufficient  information  concerning  the  proposed  raid  to  put 
them  on  their  guard,  and  enable  them  to  adopt  measures  for 
preventing  the  execution  of  the  great  scheme.  It  was  not 
comfortable,  therefore,  for  me  to  feel  that  the  detectives  were 
after  me,  and  to  be  under  the  apprehension  that  one  of  them 
might  tap  me  on  the  shoulder  at  any  moment,  and  say,  in  that 
bland  tone  detectives  use  on  such  occasions,  "  Come,  my  good 
woman,  you  are  wanted." 

A  DETECTIVE  AFTER  ME. 

I  was  absolutely  startled  when,  on  approaching  the  depot, 
my  companion,  pointing  to  a  man  in  the  crowd,  said,  "  There, 
that  is  the  fellow  to  whom  I  gave  the  photograph.  He  is 
looking  for  you;  so  beware  of  him."  Then,  thinking  it  best 
that  we  should  not  be  seen  together  by  Mr.  Detective,  he 
wished  me  good  luck,  and  said  good-by,  leaving  me  to  pro 
cure  my  ticket,  and  to  carry  my  heavy  satchel  to  the  cars 
myself. 

I  watched  the  detective  as  well  as  I  could  without  looking 
at  him  so  hard  as  to  attract  his  attention,  and  saw  that  he  was 
rather  anxiously  surveying  the  people  as  they  passed  into  the 
depot.  I  was  really  curious  to  know  how  he  managed  to  get 
on  my  track ;  for,  although  he  might  not  be  sufficiently  posted 


414  STRIKING   UP   AN   ACQUAINTANCE. 

about  me  for  purposes  of  identification,  it  was  evident  that  he 
was  working  on  some  tolerably  accurate  information  with  re- 

fard  to  my  movements.  I  also  wondered  whether  Colonel 
aker  had  any  suspicion  of  me  ;  but  made  up  my  mind  that  he 
scarcely  could  have,  or  else  this  officer  would  have  been  bet 
ter  posted. 

After  getting  into  the  cars  I  lost  sight  of  the  detective  until 
the  arrival  of  the  train  in  Rochester,  and  was  congratulating 
myself  that,  not  seeing  the  original  of  the  photograph,  he  had 
remained  in  New  York.  At  Rochester,  however,  to  my  in 
finite  horror,  he  entered  the  car  where  I  was,  and  took  a  seat 
near  me. 

When  the  conductor  came  through,  after  the  train  had 
started,  the  detective  said  something  to  him  in  a  low  tone, 
and  showed  him  a  photograph.  The  conductor  shook  his  head 
on  looking  at  it,  and  made  a  remark  that  I  could  not  hear.  I 
did,  however,  hear  the  detective  say,  "  I'll  catch  her  yet," 
to  which  I  mentally  replied,  "  Perhaps." 

This  whispered  conference  reassured  me  a  little,  as  it 
showed  that  the  officer  was  keeping  his  eye  open  for  the  orig 
inal  of  the  photograph  which  he  had  in  his  pocket,  while  the 
woman  whom  he  was  really  after  was  sitting  within  but  a  few 
feet  of  him.  I  concluded  that  I  would  try  and  strike  up  an 
acquaintance  with  this  gentleman,  in  order  to  find  out  what  he 
had  to  say  for  himself,  and  because  I  thought  that  perhaps  I 
could  say  or  do  something  to  make  him  even  more  bewildered 
than  he  was  already. 

I,  therefore,  picked  up  my  shawl  and  satchel  and  removed 
to  the  seat  immediately  back  of  him.  The  window  was  up, 
and  I  made  a  pretence  of  not  being  able  to  put  it  down,  so 
that  after  a  bit  the  detective's  attention  was  attracted,  and  he 
very  gallantly  came  to  my  assistance.  When  he  had  closed 
the  window,  I  thanked  him,  with  a  rather  effusive  politeness, 
and  he,  probably  feeling  a  trifle  lonesome,  and  also,  perhaps, 
a  trifle  discouraged,  seated  himself  beside  me,  and  opened  a 
conversation. 

He  was  a  short,  thick-set  man,  with  a  dull,  heavy  expres 
sion  of  countenance,  deep-set  eyes,  thick  eyebrows,  and  a 
coarse  and  rather  scrubby  mustache.  He  did  not  have  the 
appearance  of  being  a  very  brilliant  genius,  but  then,  as  I 
well  knew,  it  did  not  do  to  place  too  much  reliance  upon 
mere  outward  appearances,  especially  with  members  of  the 
detective  force. 


A   FRIENDLY   CHAT  WITH   THE   DETECTIVE.  415 

After  passing  the  compliments  of  the  day  we  launched  into 
a  general  conversation,  I  attempting  to  speak  with  a  touch  of 
the  Irish  brogue,  thinking  that  it  would  induce  him  to  believe 
me  to  be  a  foreigner.  I  would  have  addressed  him  with  a 
Spanish  accent,  but  was  fearful  that  it  would  help  to  betray 
me,  Baker  as  well  as  others  having  been  told  that  I  was  of 
Spanish  extraction,  while  I  did  not  know  as  yet  how  much 
real  information  the  secret-service  chief  might  have  with  re 
gard  to  me,  or  whether  this  fellow  was  one  of  his  officers  or 
not.  I  was  playing  a  rather  desperate  game,  but  I  felt  toler 
ably  sure  of  being  able  to  deal  with  the  gentleman.  I  confess, 
however,  to  having  felt  considerable  anxiety,  although  I  strove 
to  conceal  it  from  my  companion. 

"  You  are  going  to  Canada,  are  you  not  ?  "  inquired  my  new- 
made  friend. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Do  you  live  there  ?  " 

"  O,  no,  sir.  I  live  in  England.  I  am  only  going  to  Canada 
to  visit  some  friends." 

"  Have  you  been  in  America  long?  " 

"  Only  about  eight  months." 

"  How  do  you  like  this  country  ?  Don't  you  think  it  is  a 
finer  country  than  England  ?  " 

"  0,  I  like  living  in  England  much  better  than  I  do  here, 
and  expect  to  go  back  so  soon  as  I  get  through  with  my  Can 
ada  visit.  There  is  too  much  fighting  going  on  here  to  suit 
me." 

"  0,  you  need  not  mind  that ;  besides,  the  war  will  soon  be 
over  now." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  I  queried.  I  am  afraid  just  with  the 
least  touch  of  sarcasm,  and  for  fear  he  might  have  noticed 
something  unpleasant  in  my  tone,  added,  "  I  will  be  glad  when 
the  fighting  is  over.  It  is  terrible  to  hear  every  day  of  so 
many  men  being  killed." 

"  0,  that  is  nothing ;  we  get  used  to  it." 

"  Yes,"  I  mentally  said,  "  it  may  be  nothing  to  such  a  shirk 
as  you,  for  you  will  take  precious  good  care  to  keep  your  car 
cass  out  of  danger." 

The  detective  now  took  out  of  his  pocket  the  photograph 
which  my  associate  in  New  York  had  given  him,  and  which  I 
was  anxious  to  see,  and  handing  it  to  me,  said,  "  Did  you  ever 
see  anybody  resembling  this  ?  I  am  after  the  lady,  and  would 
like  very  much  to  find  her." 


416  EDIFYING   AND    ENTERTAINING. 

"  She  is  very  handsome,"  I  replied.  "  Is  she  your  wife  ?  ". 
—  looking  him  straight  in  the  eyes  as  I  said  this. 

"  Wife  !  no/7  said  he,  apparently  disgusted  at  the  sugges 
tion  that  he  was  in  pursuit  of  a  faithless  spouse.  "  She  is  a 
rebel  spy,  and  I  am  trying  to  catch  her." 

"Why,  what  has  she  been  doing?  She  looks  like  a  very 
nice  lady,  and  I  hardly  could  think  she  would  do  anything 
wrong." 

"  Well,  she  has  been  doing  a  good  deal  that  our  government 
would  like  to  pay  her  off  for.  She  is  one  of  the  smartest  of 
the  whole  gang."  This  I  thought  was  rather  complimentary 
than  otherwise.  "  I  am  on  her  track  now,  however,  sure,'7  — 
"  Yes,  the  back  track,"  I  thought  —  "  and  I  am  bound  to  catch 
her." 

"  Well,  if  she  has  been  doing  anything  against  the  law,  I 
suppose  she  ought  to  be  punished ;  but  I  hope  you  won't  treat 
her  unkindly  if  you  do  succeed  in  catching  her." 

"  She  will  have  to  look  out  for  that.  It  don't  do  to  show 
any  mercy  to  these  she  devils ;  they  give  us  more  trouble  than 
all  the  men  together." 

"  But  perhaps  this  lady  is  not  a  spy,  after  all.  She  looks 
too  pretty  and  nice  for  anything  of  that  kind.  How  do  you 
know  about  her?" 

"  0,  some  of  our  force  have  been  on  the  track  of  her  for  a 
long  time.  She  has  been  working  for  these  Copperheads  and 
rebel  agents  here  at  the  North,  and  has  been  running  through 
the  lines  with  despatches  and  goods.  She  came  through  from 
Richmond  only  a  short  time  ago,  and  she  is  now  on  her  way 
to  Canada,  with  a  lot  of  despatches  and  a  big  sum  of  money, 
which  I  would  like  to  capture." 

"Doubtless  you  would,"  I  thought;  and  then  said  aloud, 
"  I  wonder  how  you  can  find  out  so  much,  when  there  must  be 
a  great  many  people  coming  and  going  all  the  time.  Suppos 
ing  that  this  lady  is  a  spy,  as  you  say,  how  do  you  know  that 
she  has  not  already  reached  Canada?" 

"  Maybe  she  has,"  he  replied,  "  but  I  don't  think  so.  I  have 
got  her  down  pretty  fine,  and  feel  tolerably  certain  of  taking 
her  before  she  gets  over  the  line." 

This  was  a  highly  edifying  and  entertaining  conversation  to 
me,  and  I  would  willingly  have  prolonged  it  indefinitely,  for  the 
purpose  of  trying  to  get  some  points  from  my  companion  which 
might  prove  useful.  As  he,  however,  seemed  inclined  to  change 
the  subject,  I  was  afraid  to  seem  too  inquisitive,  and  we  conse- 


A   CAPITAL   GOOD   JOKE.  417 

quently  dropped  into  a  general  conversation,  of  no  interest  to 
the  reader. 

The  detective  seemed  determined  to  be  as  polite  to  me  as 
he  could ;  and  on  leaving  the  cars  he  carried  my  satchel,  con 
taining  eighty-two  thousand  dollars  belonging  to  the  Confed 
erate  government,  and  a  variety  of  other  matters  which  he 
would  have  taken  possession  of  with  the  utmost  pleasure, 
could  he  have  known  what  they  were.  When  we  passed  on 
board  the  boat  I  took  the  satchel  from  him,  and  thanking  him 
for  his  attention,  proceeded  to  get  out  of  his  sight  as  expe- 
ditiously  as  I  could. 

When  the  custom-house  officer  examined  my  luggage,  I 

•  gave  him  a  wink,  and  whispered  the  password  I  had   been 

instructed  to  use,  and  he  merely  turned  up  the  shawl  which 

was  on  my  arm,  and  went  through  the  form  of  looking  into 

my  satchel. 

THE  DETECTIVE  BAFFLED. 

On  reaching  the  Canada  shore  I  was  met  by  Mr.  L.,  who 
gave  me  a  very  hearty  greeting  ;  but  I  cautioned  him  to  say  as 
little  as  possible  just  then,  as  we  might  be  watched.  Glancing 
back,  I  saw  my  friend  the  detective,  anxiously  surveying  the 
passing  crowd ;  and  calling  Mr.  L.'s  attention  to  him,  I  said, 
"  Do  you  see  that  heavy  man  with  the  black  eyebrows  and 
scrubby  mustache,  who  looks  as  though  he  had  lost  some 
thing?" 

"Yes.     What  of  him?" 

"  He  has  been  travelling  on  the  train  with  me  all  day,  and 
has  been  exceedingly  polite  and  attentive.  He  is  a  detective, 
and  I  am  the  individual  he  is  after,  but  he  isn't  half  smart 
enough  to  catch  me." 

I  then,  as  we  moved  off,  related  my  adventure  with  the  de 
tective  to  my  Canadian  friend.  He  thought  it  a  capital  good 
joke,  and  said  that  I  seemed. to  be  tolerably  well  able  to  take 
care  of  myself. 

On  my  arrival  in  Canada  I  was  welcomed  with  great  cordi 
ality  by  the  Confederates  there,  who  were  eager  to  know  all 
about  my  trip,  how  things  were  looking  at  Richmond,  whether 
I  had  letters  for  so  and  so,  and  anything  else  that  I  was  able 
to  tell  them.  I  distributed  my  letters  and  despatches  accord 
ing  to  instructions  ;  mailed  packages  for  the  commanders  of 
the  cruisers  Shenandoah  and  Florida,  which  I  had  received 
with  especial  injunctions  to  be  particularly  careful  of,  as  they 
27 


418  A   SPECIAL   MISSION. 

were  very  important ;  and  then  proceeded  to  the  transaction 
of  such  other  business,  commercial  as  well  as  political,  as  I  had 
on  hand. 

As  this  was  my  first  visit  to  Canada,  there  was  much  for  me 
to  do,  and  much  to  learn.  I  therefore  became  acquainted  with 
as  many  people  as  I  could,  and  found  out  all  I  could  about  the 
methods  of  transacting  commercial  and  financial  business, 
who  the  proper  parties  to  deal  with  were,  and  everything 
else  worth  knowing  that  I  could  think  of. 

PLANNING  FOR  THE  GREAT  RAID. 

There  were  a  good  many  matters  of  more  importance  than 
trade  and  finance,  however,  which  demanded  my  immediate 
consideration,  and  many  and  long  were  the  conferences  held 
with  regard  to  the  proposed  grand  movement  on  the  enemy's 
rear.  There  were  a  number  of  points  about  this  grand 
scheme  that  I  would  have  liked  to  have  been  informed  of;  but 
those  who  were  making  the  arrangements  for  the  raid  were 
so  fearful  of  their  plans  in  some  way  getting  to  the  ears  of 
the  Federal  authorities,  that  they  were  unwilling  to  tell  me, 
and  other  special  agents,  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  intrusted  to  us.  This  exces 
sive  caution  was,  perhaps,  demanded  by  the  peculiarities  of  the 
situation;  but  it  is  certain,  in  my  opinion,  that  could  there 
have  been  a  more  definite  understanding  between  the  various 
co-workers,  the  chances  of  success  would  have  been  very 
largely  increased.  I,  for  one,  could  have  performed  my  part 
with  far  more  efficiency  —  although  I  did  all  that  it  was  ar 
ranged  that  I  should  do  —  had  I  been  trusted  more  largely 
with  the  details  of  the  proposed  movement. 

As  it  was,  I  was  merely  furnished  with  a  general  idea  of 
the  contemplated  attack,  and  was  assigned  to  special  duties 
in  connection  with  it.  These  duties  were  to  visit  Johnson's 
Island,  in  Lake  Erie,  and,  if  possible,  other  military  prisons, 
for  the  purpose  of  informing  the  Confederates  confined  in 
them  of  what  was  being  done  towards  effecting  their  release, 
and  what  was  expected  of  them  when  they  were  released.  I 
was  then  to  telegraph  to  certain  agents  that  the  prisoners 
were  warned,  and  such  other  information  as  I  might  deem  it 
important  for  them  to  be  possessed  of,  in  accordance  with  an 
arranged  system  of  signals.  This  being  done,  I  was  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  execution  of  other  tasks,  the  exact  details  of 


THE   PROPOSED    RAID.       .  419 

which,  however,  were  made  dependent  upon  circumstances, 
and  upon  directions  I  might  receive  from  the  agents  in  the 
States,  under  whose  orders  I  was  to  act. 

This  plan  for  a  grand  raid  by  way  of  the  lakes  excited  my 
enthusiasm  greatly,  and  I  had  very  strong  hopes  of  its  suc 
cess.  I  knew  how  desperate  the  situation  at  the  South  was 
getting  to  be,  and  felt  that  a  diversion  of  this  kind,  which 
would  excite  terror  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  North, 
and  which  would  probably  cause  a  considerable  force  to  be 
withdrawn  from  the  front,  would  help  the  Confederate  cause 
at  this  particular  juncture  more,  even,  than  a  series  of  bril 
liant  victories  on  the  well-trodden  battle-grounds  of  the  South. 
A  large  number  of  the  people  of  the  North  were,  I  knew,  get 
ting  heartily  sick  of  the  war,  and  I  thought  that  it  would  only 
need  a  brilliant  movement  for  transferring  some  of  the  fight 
ing  and  some  of  the  desolation  to  Northern  ground,  to  cause 
the  anti-war  policy  to  demand  that  peace  should  be  had  at  any 
price.  Whether  the  proposed  raid  would  have  accomplished 
all  that  was  expected  of  it,  can,  of  course,  never  be  deter 
mined.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  I,  as  well  as  others  in 
terested,  underrated  the  difficulties  of  executing  such  a  com 
plicated  scheme.  Be  that  as  it  may,  something  could  have 
been  done,  more  than  was  done,  had  everybody  been  as  enthu 
siastic  and  as  determined  as  myself,  and  had  there  been  no 
traitors  with  us.  The  scheme  failed,  when  it  should  have 
been,  at  least,  partly  successful ;  but  it  need  not  have  failed 
so  utterly  as  it  did,  had  it  been  managed  with  wisdom,  backed 
up  by  true  daring. 


CHAPTER  XXXYI. 

ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  A  WESTERN  TRIP. 

I  return  to  Washington  for  the  Purpose  of  reporting  to  Colonel  Baker.  — 
Apprehensions  with  Regard  to  the  Kind  of  Reception  I  am  likely  to 
have  from  him.  —  The  Colonel  amiable,  and  apparently  unsuspicious.  — 
I  give  him  an  Account  of  my  Richmond  Trip,  and  receive  his  Congrat 
ulations.  —  General  A.  calls  on  me,  and  he,  Baker,  and  I  go  to  the 
Theatre.  — A  Supper  at  the  Grand  Hotel.  —  Baker  calls  on  me  the  next 
Morning,  and  proposes  that  I  shall  visit  the  Military  Prisons  at  John 
son's  Island  and  elsewhere,  for  the  Purpose  of  discovering  whether  the 
Confederate  Prisoners  have  any  Intentions  of  escaping.  —  I  accept  the 
Commission,  and  start  for  the  West.  —  Reflections  on  the  Military  and 
Political  Situations. 

'N  my  return  from  Canada,  I  went  first  to  New 
York,  where  I  delivered  such  matters  as  had 
been  committed  to  my  care  for  my  associates 
there,  and  after  a  conference  with  them,  hur 
ried  on  to  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  Colonel  Baker. 

It  was  not  without  many  apprehensions  that  I  con 
cluded  to  face  the  colonel  again,  for  I  did  not  know 
how  much  information  he  might  have  about  me  by 
this  time,  and  it  really  seemed  like  walking  into  the 
lion's  den.  That  his  officers  were  aware  of  some  of 
my  movements,  as  they  were  following  me  up  rather  too 
closely  for  comfort,  was  certain;  but  whether  they  had  yet 
succeeded  in  identifying  the  rebel  spy  and  secret-service 
agent  with  the  woman  whom  Baker  had  employed  to  go  on  a 
confidential  mission  to  Richmond,  was  not  so  clear.  Taking 
all  things  into  consideration,  I  concluded  that  Baker  and  his 
men  must  be  rather  in  a  mist  about  me  j  for  the  detective, 
whom  I  had  met  on  the  cars,  was  evidently  working  some 
what  in  the  dark,  which  could  hardly  have  been  the  case  had 
his  chief  suspected  me  of  playing  a  double  game  with  him. 
If  Baker,  however,  had  the  least  suspicion  with  regard  to 

420 


-I  '/Anounu  '      V^-v^dP^^ 

t\  o         ^-^^PLYMOUTH 

A  to  WILLIAMSTON 


BAKER  UNSUSPICIOUS.  421 

me,  the  fact  of  my  very  prolonged  absence  would,  I  knew,  be 
liable  to  increase  it,  although  under  ordinary  circumstances 
there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  explaining  this  to  his 
satisfaction  ;  for  he  well  knew  that  the  errand  he  had  sent  me 
on  was  a  difficult  as  well  as  a  perilous  one,  and  that  it  was  not 
to  be  accomplished  quite  as  easily  as  a  trip  between  Washing 
ton  and  New  York. 

Making  all  allowances  for  the  probabilities  in  my  own  favor, 
however,  I  confess  that  I  experienced  some  trepidation  at  the 
idea  of  facing  the  colonel,  and  I  wondered  not  a  little  what  he 
would  do  with  me  in  case  he  did  happen  to  know  who  I  really 
was.  It  was  of  such  great  importance,  however,  that  I  should 
gain  immediate  admittance  to  the  military  prisons,  and  I  knew 
that  such  admittance  could  be  gained  by  going  there  as  one 
of  Baker's  corps,  whereas  it  might  otherwise  be  impossible, 
that  I  determined  to  take  all  the  risks,  so  far  as  my  own 
safety  was  concerned,  and  to  try  and  have  the  colonel  my 
ally  in  making  the  preparations  for  what,  if  properly  carried 
out,  would  be  one  of  the  most  brilliant  episodes  of  the  war,  so 
far  as  the  Confederates  were  concerned,  and  that  would  " 
unlikely  have  the  effect  of  bringing  the  contest  to  a  sp^ 
termination. 

The  idea  of  being  able  to  use  the  chief  of  the  Federal 
detectives  for  the  advancement  of  the  Confederate  cause  was 
one  that  gave  me  enormous  satisfaction,  and  I  more  than 
once  fancied  what  a  capital  good  joke  it  would  be  for  me, 
after  I  succeeded  in  getting  beyond  Colonel  Baker's  reach,  to 
inform  him  how  badly  he  had  been  taken  in,  and  to  ask  him 
what  he  thought  of  me  and  of  my  performances  from  a  profes 
sional  point  of  view. 

REPORTING  TO  BAKER. 

While  on  my  way  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  meet 
ing  him,  and  of  making  a  report  of  my  Richmond  trip,  my 
prospective  interview  was  anything  but  a  joking  matter.  The 
thing  had  to  be  done,  though ;  so,  stifling  my  fears,  I,  on  my 
arrival  in  Washington,  walked  boldly  into  the  colonel's  pres 
ence,  and  announced  myself  as  having  just  got  back  from 
Richmond. 

Baker  received  me  with  proper  cordiality,  and  congratu 
lated  me  on  my  safe  return.  There  was  nothing  whatever  in 
his  manner  to  indicate  that  he  had  the  slightest  suspicion  of 


422  BAKER   BEGUILED. 

me.  This  was  reassuring;  still  I  could  not  be  quite  certain 
but  that,  having  once  got  me  into  his  power,  he  intended  to 
find  out  what  I  had  to  say  for  myself  before  beginning  a  less 
agreeable  conversation. 

I,  however,  did  not  propose  to  commence  saying  disagree 
able  things  if  he  did  not ;  and  so,  presuming  that  he  imagined 
me  to  have  just  returned  from  the  Confederate  capital,  I  pro 
ceeded  to  make  such  a  report  of  my  doings  as  I  thought  would 
suit  him. 

I  told  him  that  I  had  obtained  the  name  of  the  spy  whom 
he  was  anxious  to  discover,  and  such  a  description  of  him  as 
would  enable  me  to  identify  him  without  any  difficulty,  if  I 
could  get  to  see  him.  The  information  I  had  obtained  with 
regard  to  him  induced  me  to  believe  that  he  was  at  Johnson's 
Island,  but  of  this  I  could  not  be  certain. 

I  then  went  on  to  say  that  it  was  understood  in  Richmond 
that  arrangements  were  being  made  for  a  grand  stampede  of 
the  rebel  prisoners,  and  that  this  spy,  in  some  way,  found  means 
to  communicate  with  the  Copperheads  and  the  rebel  secret- 
service  agents.  This  was  the  story  which  it  had  been  arranged 
between  my  confederate  and  myself  I  should  tell  Baker,  for 
several  reasons.  There  was  the  least  bit  of  truth  in  it,  and, 
in  endeavoring  to  throw  a  detective  like  Baker  off  the  scent, 
a  little  truth  mingled  with  the  fiction  would  be  likely  to 
accomplish  the  object  better  than  a  story  which  was  all 
fiction.  As  there  had  been  rumors  more  than  once  of 
attempted  stampedes  of  the  prisoners,  it  was  concluded  that 
Baker  would  not  be  likely  to  regard  this  one  as  of  any  very 
great  importance,  especially  if  he  had  no  inkling  of  the 
grand  raid  which  was  to  take  place  in  connection  with  the 
release  of  the  prisoners,  while  at  the  same  time  he  would  be 
anxious  to  find  out  whether  a  stampede  was  really  to  be 
attempted,  and  if  I  managed  right,  would  most  likely  employ 
me  to  make  the  investigations  for  him. 

This  explanation  is  worth  making,  for  its  own  sake,  as  it  will 
give  the  reader  an  idea  of  my  method  of  working,  and  at  the 
same  time  will  serve  to  show  that  I  was  not  revealing  to  the 
colonel  any  secrets  which  it  was  my  duty  to  keep  from  him. 

BAKER  FALLS  INTO  THE  TRAP. 

Baker  fell  into  the  trap  just  as  innocently  as  if  he  had  been 
a  young  man  from  the  country,  instead  of  the  chief  detective 


A   PLUCKY   LITTLE   WOMAN.  423 

officer  of  a  great  government  which  was  engaged  in  a 
gigantic  contest.  On  my  suggesting  my  willingness  to  follow 
the  thing  up' by  visiting  the  prisons  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
the  spy,  and  if  possible  discovering  the  facts  with  regard  to 
any  conspiracy  that  might  be  on  foot,  he  did  not  give  me  any 
definite  answer  at  once,  but  said  he  would  think  about  it ;  but 
I  saw  plainly  that  he  considered  the  idea  as  rather  a  good 
one,  and  did  not  doubt  that  he  would  speedily  make  up  his 
mind  to  send  me. 

When  we  had  finished  talking  over  this  matter,  I  proceeded 
to  give  him  a  detailed  account  of  what  I  saw  and  heard  in 
Richmond.  I  said  that  the  rebels  were  very  strict  and  very 
suspicious,  and  would  not  allow  any  one  to  go  to  the  front,  or 
to  visit  the  prisons  or  the  public  buildings.  I  was,  how 
ever,  able  to  pick  up  quite  a  number  of  facts  that  might  be 
useful,  and  then  went  on  to  tell  him  a  well-connected  story, 
partly  true  and  partly  false,  about  the,  way  things  looked,  and 
the  way  people  talked  ;  what  the  forces  in  the  field,  and  their 
locations  were ;  how  the  blockade-runners  managed  to  get  in 
and  out  of  port;  what  I  had  seen  and  heard  on  the  road 
as  I  was  going  to  and  fro,  and  so  on.  None  of  the  real  facts 
that  I  gave  the  colonel  were  of  any  importance,  although  I 
magnified  them  as  much  as  I  could,  but  they  served  to  give 
an  air  of  plausibility  to  my  narrative,  and  to  convince  him 
that  I  was  quite  an  expert  spy,  considering  that  I  was  a  mere 
beginner. 

Baker  asked  me  numerous  questions,  which  I  answered 
to  the  best  of  my  ability,  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  the 
good  of  the  Confederate  cause ;  and  when  we  had  concluded 
our  conversation  he  praised  me  very  warmly,  said  that  I  was 
a  plucky  little  woman,  that  he  had  thought  I  had  vim  enough 
to  go  through  if  any  one  could,  that  I  had  done  a  good  ser 
vice  to  the  country,  and  a  variety  of  other  nice  things,  which 
had  the  effect  of  making  me  feel  quite  pleasant  and  quite  at 
my  ease  with  him  again  ;  being  reasonably  certain,  although 
not  absolutely  sure  as  yet,  that  he  was  harboring  no  malevo 
lent  intentions  towards  me.  Baker  also  remarked,  that  not 
hearing  anything  of  me  for  such  a  long  time,  he  had  been 
getting  somewhat  uneasy  about  me ;  to  which  I  replied,  by 
telling  him  how  and  why  I  had  been  detained;  and  the  expla 
nation  appeared  to  be  entirely  satisfactory,  for  he  said  no  more 
on  that  point. 

I  was  curious  to  know  exactly  how  well  he  was  informed 


424  CONGRATULATIONS. 

with  regard  to  my  real  movements,  and  had  half  a  dozen 
questions  on  the  end  of  my  tongue  which  I  wanted  to  ask  him. 
I  concluded,  however,  that  this  would  be  going  rather  too  far, 
and  would  do  no  good,  while  it  might  have  the  effect  of  excit 
ing  suspicions  where  none  at  present  existed.  I  did,  how 
ever,  venture  to  inquire  whether  he  had  told  any  one  that  I 
was  attached  to  the  corps. 

"  No,  no,"  he  replied,  "  certainly  not,  and  I  don't  want  you 
to  tell  any  one  either.  If  I  employ  you  for  anything,  it  will  be 
for  strictly  confidential  business,  which  must  be  between  our 
selves.  I  would  rather  that  even  my  own  people  should  not 
know  anything  about  you  as  a  secret-service  agent." 

Having  finished  our  business  talk,  I  asked  for  my  friends 
General  A.  and  Captain  B.,  and  was  informed  that  the  captain 
was  in  the  field,  but  that  the  general  was  in  the  city,  and 
would  doubtless  be  glad  to  see  me. 

On  reaching  the  Kirkwood  House,  where  I  had  taken  a 
room,  I  sent  my  card  to  the  general  at  Willard's  Hotel,  and 
he  came  immediately  to  see  me.  While  we  were  chatting,  in 
came  Baker,  who,  I  judged  by  his  manner,  had  something 
which  he  wanted  to  say  to  me,  and  surmised  that  it  was  a 
consent  that  I  should  visit  the  prisoners. 

"  Ah,  general,"  said  he,  "  I  see  that  you  are  bound  to  con 
tinue  your  attentions  to  our  little  friend  here.  She  hasn't 
been  in  Washington  many  hours,  and  you  have  found  her  out 
already.  I  guess,  however,  that  she  likes  me  better  than  she 
does  you,  for  she  came  to  see  me  as  soon  as  she  arrived." 

The  general  looked  a  trifle  surprised  at  this,  and  said, 
"  Why,  Baker,  you  must  be  getting  to  be  a  lady's  man  !  I 
didn't  know  that  you  were  particularly  inclined  that  way." 

Baker  laughed  at  this,  and  said,  "  She  is  a  first-rate  little 
woman,  and  I  wish  there  were  more  like  her.  She  has  just 
made  a  very  successful  trip  to  Richmond,  and  has  brought  me 
some  important  items." 

"Is  that  so?"  said  the  general.  "Why,  I  did  not  know  that 
she  belonged  to  your  corps." 

"  Neither  does  she  in  a  regular  way ;  but  as  she  knew  a 
good  deal  about  Richmond,  and  was  acquainted  with  a  number 
of  people  there,  I  thought  I  would  let  her  make  a  trip,  espe 
cially  as  she  was  extremely  anxious  to  try  her  luck." 

The  general  congratulated  me  on  my  success,  and  then  pro 
posed  that  we  should  all  three  go  that  evening  to  Ford's 
Theatre.  Baker  assented,  and  I  was  quite  willing,  as  I 


PLAYING   A   DESPERATE   GAME.  425 

thought  an  evening's  entertainment  in  witnessing  a  good  play 
would  brighten  me  up  a  little.  Besides,  I  was  anxious  to 
cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  these  two  men,  and  was  especially 
solicitous  to  have  all  possible  opportunities  of  conversing  with 
the  colonel,  with  a  view  of  inducing  him  to  accede  to  my 
proposition  for  a  visit  to  the  military  prisons.  Baker  and  the 
general  then  said  good-by,  for  the  present,  and  went  away 
together. 

About  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  general  returned 
alone,  and  as  he  was  escorting  me  to  the  carriage  I  asked 
where  Baker  was.  The  general  replied  that  he  had  been 
compelled  to  go  unexpectedly  to  the  executive  mansion,  on 
some  business,  but  would  probably  join  us  in  the  theatre. 

AN  EVENING  AT  THE  THEATRE. 

This  aroused  all  my  apprehensions  of  danger  again,  and  I 
became  fearfully  uneasy  lest  all  the  colonel's  fine  words  should 
merely  have  been  intended  to  draw  me  out  and  conceal  some 
sinister  designs  towards  me.  I  stifled  my  fears,  however,  as 
well  as  I  could,  and  after  we  got  to  the  theatre  tried  to  con 
verse  with  the  general  in  an  agreeable  and  natural  manner. 
I  was  startled  by  the  least  sound,  however,  and  was  unable  to 
avoid  turning  round  to  look  every  time  any  one  came  in, 
almost  expecting  every  moment  that  Baker,  or  one  of  his 
officers,  would  appear  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  me. 

My  fears  proved  to  be  groundless.  Baker  did  come  in  soon 
after  the  play  commenced,  and  taking  a  seat  beside  me,  made 
an  apology  for  not  joining  the  party  sooner,  but  begging  to  be 
excused,  as  he  had  been  compelled  to  go  up  to  the  White 
House,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  talk  with  the  president 
and  the  secretary  of  war.  There  was  nothing  in  his  manner 
then  or  afterwards  to  indicate  that  he  was  suspicious  of  me, 
and  both  he  and  the  general,  while  the  play  was  in  progress, 
were  apparently  greatly  absorbed  in  what  was  occurring  on 
the  stage. 

As  for  myself,  I  found  it  impossible  to  get  interested.  I 
was  uneasy  for  my  own  safety,  knowing  that  I  was  playing  a 
desperate  game,  and  was  even  more  anxious  lest  the  grand 
scheme  which  I  was  endeavoring  to  promote  should  fail 
through  any  fault  or  misdirection  of  mine.  My  thoughts,  too, 
wandered  to  our  brave  men  in  the  field,  and  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  poor  prisoners.  I  almost  reproached  myself  for  even 


426  THE    COLONEL   WILL    CALL. 

making  an  appearance  of  indulging  in  an  evening's  recreation 
in  company  with  two  Federal  officers,  while  so  many  thousand 
Confederates  were  enduring  so  much,  but  consoled  myself 
with  the  reflection  that  I  was  not  doing  this  for  mere  pleas 
ure,  but  was  engaged  in  the  performance  of  an  important  task, 
which  might  be  greatly  promoted  through  my  acquaintance 
with  these  men.  Finally,  to  my  great  relief  and  satisfaction, 
the  play  came  to  an  end,  and  the  curtain  dropped  for  the  last 
time. 

As  we  passed  out,  the  general  proposed  that  we  should  go 
to  the  Grand  Hotel  and  have  some  supper.  I  did  not  care  to 
do  this,  but  thought  it  best  to  accept  the  invitation. 

AT  SUPPER. 

We  had  a  really  superb  repast  —  one  of  the  finest  I  had 
ever  sat  down  to  ;  and  as  I  was  hungry,  I  ate  quite  heartily. 
In  the  way  of  drinkables,  I  confined  myself  to  lemonade,  but 
the  gentlemen  took  wine.  The  general,  who  was  quite  fond 
of  his  toddy,  drank  rather  more  than  was  good  for  him,  and 
soon  became  very  talkative  and  a  trifle  noisy.  He  was  one 
of  those  men,  however,  who  never  forget  to  be  gentlemen, 
and  he  neither  said  nor  did  anything  offensive.  Finally,  he 
began  spinning  some  long  yarn,  during  which  Baker  took  an 
opportunity  to  whisper  to  me  that  he  would  probably  want  to 
see  me  in  the  morning.  I  nodded  assent,  although  my  fears 
began  to  rise  a  little,  but  I  hoped  that  instead  of  demanding 
a  different  account  of  my  doings  from  that  which  I  had  al 
ready  given  him,  the  colonel  would  give  me  my  commission 
for  a  trip  to  the  West. 

After  we  had  finished  our  supper,  we  returned  to  the 
Kirkwood,  where  I  bade  them  good  night,  at  about  a  quarter 
before  twelve,  at  the  drawing-room  door  ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  gone,  hastened  to  my  own  room  to  obtain  the  rest  of 
which  I  stood  in  so  much  need,  for  1  was  tired  out  with  the 
fatigues  of  travel  and  the  excitement  and  anxieties  of  the 
day. 

The  next  morning,  just  as  I  was  sitting  down  to  breakfast, 
the  waiter  brought  me  a  note  from  Colonel  Baker,  in  which  he 
stated  that  he  would  call  to  see  me  at  the  hotel  about  half 
past  ten  o'clock,  and  requested  me  to  await  him  at  that  hour. 
Still  being  uncertain  whether  Baker's  intentions  towards  me 
were  amicable  or  not,  it  was  not  without  some  trepidation 


PREPARED  TO  VENTURE  EVERYTHING.          427 

that  I  looked  forward  to  this  interview.  I  did  not  know  him 
then  as  well  as  I  did  subsequently,  or  I  would  scarcely  have 
been  so  much  afraid  of  him.  It  did  not  take  me  a  very  great 
while  to  discover  that  he  was  not  a  prodigy  of  astuteness,  but 
at  this  time,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  I  had  had  comparatively 
little  to  do  with  him.  I  knew  that  if  he  was  not  sharp  he 
ought  to  have  been,  holding  the  position  that  he  did,  and  I 
also  knew  that  I  had  good  cause  to  dread  falling  into  his 
hands,  or  even  being  suspected  by  him.  Not  only  were  some 
of  the  members  of  his  corps  eagerly  looking  for  me,  but  I  was 
about  engaging  in  a  particularly  hazardous  enterprise  which 
it  would  have  made  Baker's  fortune  to  have  gotten  an  inkling 
of,  and  I  did  not  know  —  even  presuming  that  Baker  himself 
was  unaware  of  the  fact  that  I  was  a  Confederate  spy  —  how 
soon  he  or  some  of  his  men  might  succeed  in  identifying  me 
with  the  troublesome  woman  they  were  searching  for,  or  how 
soon  they  might  discover  something  about  the  plot  which  I 
was  aiding  to  carry  out.  The  situation,  therefore,  was  a  deli 
cate  one  for  me,  for  much  more  than  my  own  safety  was  de 
pendent  upon  the  chief  of  the  United  States  secret  service 
continuing  in  the  belief  that  I  was  exactly  what  I  represented 
myself  to  be,  and  retaining  his  confidence  in  me. 

Thus  far,  to  be  sure,  I  had  been  able  to  detect  nothing  in 
Colonel  Baker's  manner  to  indicate  that  his  suspicions  were 
excited  in  the  least,  although  I  had  watched  him  narrowly. 
But,  as  I  knew  that,  as  a  detective,  it  was  a  part  of  his  busi 
ness  to  mask  his  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  not  to  give  even  a 
shadow  of  a  hint  that  he  had  been  preparing  a  trap  until  the 
moment  he  was  ready  to  spring  it  and  secure  his  victim,  I  felt 
that  I  could  not  place  too  much  reliance  on  his  friendly  looks 
and  behavior.  On  the  other  hand,  I  had  much  confidence  in 
my  own  power  of  reading  character  and  detecting  motives, 
and,  in  watching  Colonel  Baker,  during  my  late  interviews 
with  him,  I  was  not  working  in  the  dark,  as  I  might  have  been 
doing  under  some  circumstances.  I  knew  that  there  was  good 
reason  to  believe  not  only  that  he  might  suspect  me,  but  that 
he  might  be  possessed  of  accurate  information  about  me,  and 
I  accordingly  studied  his  behavior  towards  me  from  this  stand 
point.  The  result  was  a  reasonable  conviction  with  regard  to 
my  present  safety,  and  yet  nothing  like  a  feeling  of  absolute 
certainty.  As  for  the  future,  I,  of  course,  could  know  nothing 
as  to  what  that  would  bring  forth,  but  was  prepared  to  ven 
ture  everything. 


428       BAKER  SENDS  ME  ON  ANOTHER  EXPEDITION. 

At  the  appointed  time,  Colonel  Baker  made  his  appearance, 
and  said  "  Good  morning  "  with  a  pleasant  smile,  in  which 
there  was  apparently  not  a  shade  of  malice  or  unfriendliness. 
After  asking  me  how  I  had  liked  the  play,  and  making  a  few 
other  unimportant  remarks,  he  said,  "  Well,  my  little  woman, 
I  have  made  up  my  miud  to  let  you  try  your  skill  as  a  detec 
tive  once  more,  if  you  are  in  the  same  mind  you  were 
yesterday." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  I  am  just  as  anxious  now  as  I  was  then, 
and  I  think  I  can  not  only  find  that  spy  for  you,  but  that  I  can 
discover  whether  there  really  is  any  intention  among  the  rebel 
prisoners  to  make  a  break." 

"  That  is  just  what  I  want  you  to  do.  I  think  that  a  woman 
can  manage  a  job  of  this  kind  better  than  a  man  anyhow,  and 
I  believe  that  you  are  just  the  woman  to  manage  it  in  first-rate 
style." 

"  Thank  you,  colonel ;  I  can  at  least  try." 

ABOUT  THAT  SPY. 

"  Yes,  that's  it ;  try  and  find  out  all  you  can.  I  want  you  to 
pick  out  this  man  for  me  if  he  is  at  Johnson's  Island,  as  you 
seem  to  think  he  is,  and  if  you  succeed  in  finding  him,  telegraph 
to  me  immediately.  If  he  is  not  at  Johnson's  Island,  you  had 
better  try  and  find  out  if  any  of  the  prisoners  know  anything 
about  him ;  it  is  possible,  you  know,  that  he  may  be  in  some 
other  prison,  or,  indeed,  that  he  may  have  escaped.  At  all 
events,  make  every  effort  to  find  him." 

"  You  know,  colonel,  I  am  acquainted  with  a  good  many 
people  down  South,  and  I  may  come  across  somebody  I  know, 
or  somebody  that  knows  somebody  I  know,  and  by  represent 
ing  myself  as  a  disguised  Confederate,  I  may  be  able  to  get 
the  prisoners  to  talk  plainer  than  they  would  to  a  stranger  or 
a  new  visitor." 

"  Well,  I  will  leave  it  to  you  to  manage  the  thing  the  best 
way  you  can  think  of.  It  would  not  be  a  bad  idea,  however,  if 
you  were  to  pass  yourself  off  as  a  Confederate  secret-ser 
vice  agent,  and  if  you  were  to  intimate  that  something  was 
likely  to  be  done  soon  to  procure  the  release  of  the  prisoners, 
you  might  be  able  to  induce  them  to  say  whether  they  have 
any  plans  of  their  own,  or  whether  they  are  in  communication 
with  any  one  outside." 

"  That  is   about  my  idea  of  working ;   but  the   only  diffi- 


RATHER   TOO   PERSONAL.  429 

culty  will  be  in  getting  a  chance  to  talk  to  any  of  the  men 
privately." 

"  0,  I'll  arrange  that  for  you  by  giving  you  a  confidential 
letter,  which,  however,  you  must  be  careful  not  to  let  any  one 
see  except  the  commanding  officer.  If  those  fellows  are  up  to 
any  tricks,  I  want  to  know  all  about  it  at  once.  There  has 
been  a  good  deal  of  talk  at  different  times  about  the  prisoners 
attempting  to  stampede,  but  it  has  been  pretty  much  all  news 
paper  sensation,  with  nothing  in  it." 

"  But,  you  know,  colonel,  something  of  the  kind  might  be 
attempted ;  and  if  a  stampede  or  an  insurrection  should  take 
place,  it  would  create  a  good  deal  of  excitement  just  now." 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  that's  so.  If  there  is  anything  on  foot  I  want 
to  discover  it,  and  I  want  you  to  find  out  all  you  possibly  can, 
and  let  me  know  immediately." 

"  Well,  you  can  rely  upon  me,  and  I  think  you  will  find  me 
as  shrewd  as  most  of  your  detectives  are." 

"  If  you  will  only  keep  your  eyes  and  ears  well  open,  and 
open  your  mouth  only  when  you  have  business  to  talk  about, 
I  will  most  likely  find  you  a  good  deal  shrewder." 

"  Why,  colonel,  you  don't  appear  to  have  the  best  opinion  in 
the  world  of  some  of  your  detectives." 

"  0,  yes,  they  do  pretty  well ;  some  of  them  are  really  first- 
rate  men ;  but  they  are  not  as  smart  as  they  ought  to  be  for 
the  kind  of  service  they  are  in." 

"  I  suppose  some  of  those  rebel  spies  give  you  a  good  of 
trouble  in  keeping  the  run  of  them." 

"  0,  you  haven't  any  idea  of  it.  Half  the  people  of  Wash 
ington  and  its  immediate  vicinity  are  rebel  sympathizers,  and 
would  be  spies  if  they  dared,  and  knew  how.  And  then  they 
are  at  work  all  through  the  North  and  in  Canada.  Some  of 
my  people  are  after  a  spy  now  who  has  been  travelling  be 
tween  Richmond  and  Canada,  but  they  don't  seem  to  be  able 
to  lay  their  hands  on  her.  If  they  don't  catch  her  soon,  I 
have  half  a  mind  to  let  you  try  what  you  can  do,  if  you  suc 
ceed  well  with  your  present  trip." 

The  conversation  at  this  point,  I  concluded,  was  getting  to 
be  rather  too  personal,  and  I  thought  it  best  to  change  the 
subject,  although  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  idea  of  Baker 
employing  me  to  catch  myself.  That,  I  thought,  would  be  en 
tirely  too  arduous  a  task  for  me  to  undertake  in  my  then 
rather  feeble  state  of  health,  although  there  might  be  both 
amusement  and  profit  in  it.  Forbearing,  however,  to  enter 


430  ON   THE  WESTERN   TRAIN. 

upon  this  interesting  theme,  I  asked  the  colonel  when  he 
desired  me  to  start.  He  said  by  the  first  train,  if  I  could  get 
ready ;  and  handing  me  my  confidential  letter  and  two  hun 
dred  dollars,  he  asked  whether  there  was  anything  more  he 
could  do  for  me. 

I  said  that  I  could  think  of  nothing,  but  would  proceed  to 
get  ready  for  my  journey  immediately.  He  then  shook  hands 
and  left,  after  wishing  me  a  pleasant  trip,  and  expressing  a 
hope  that  he  would  soon  receive  a  good  report  from  me. 

When  the  colonel  was  gone,  I  went  up  to  my  room  to  pack 
my  travelling  satchel ;  and  feeling  perfectly  satisfied  from  my 
late  conversation  with  him  that  I  was  safe  for  the  present  so 
far  as  he  was  concerned,  I  laughed  heartily  at  the  absurdity 
of  the  situation,  and  wondered  with  myself  whether  I  would 
have  dared  to  attempt  anything  of  this  kind  at  Richmond 
with  old  General  Winder.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  concluding 
that  if  fate  had  compelled  me  to  play  tricks  with  Winder,  as  I 
was  doing  with  Baker,  I  would  have  been  forced  to  proceed 
in  a  le§s  open  and  free  and  easy  style  about  it,  and  congratu 
lated  myself  most  heartily  that  I  had  so  easy  a  customer  to 
deal  with  under  existing  circumstances. 

Calling  a  carriage,  I  was  soon  at  the  Baltimore  depot,  and  on 
board  the  train.  Having  to  stop  at  the  Relay  House  for  the 
western  bound  train,  I  made  an  effort  to  see  the  Confederate 
agent  who  was  stationed  there,  as  I  had  a  number  of  things  I 
wanted  to  say  to  him.  He  was  an  old  Southern  acquaintance 
of/ mine,  and  there  were  a  variety  of  little  matters  that  I  could 
have  whispered  in  his  ear  that  would  have  been  useful,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  that  I  would  not  have  cared  to  confide  to 
every  agent  with  whom  I  happened  to  come  in  contact.  There 
is  a  good  deal  in  knowing  who  one's  friends  really  are  in  trans 
acting  such  delicate  business  as  that  I  was  then  engaged  in. 
Unfortunately,  my  friend  was  away ;  and  as  I  was  in  too  much 
of  a  hurry  to  wait  for  his  return,  I  was  forced  to  forego 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  him. 

WESTWARD  Ho ! 

Once  on  board  the  Western  train,  I  had  a  long  journey  be 
fore  me,  and  had  plenty  of  time  to  think  over  affairs  generally. 
I  planned  and  schemed  until  my  brain  fairly  whirled,  and  I 
was  glad  to  chat  a  little  with  some  of  my  neighbors,  or  to 
gaze  through  the  car  windows  at  the  gorgeous  scenery  that 


THE    POLITICAL    SITUATION.  431 

met  my  eyes  at  every  turn  in  the  road,  and  to  try  and  think 
for  a  while  only  of  its  beauties,  as  a  rest  from  the  wild  thoughts 
that  filled  my  mind. 

^  Try  as  I  might,  however,  I  could  not  avoid  thinking  of  the 
situation,  the  prospects  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the  chances 
of  success  for  the  grand  scheme,  the  execution  of  which  I  was 
endeavoring  to  assist.  What  if  we  failed  ?  or,  if  we  succeeded 
in  our  first  effort,  would  we  be  able  to  accomplish  all  we  intend 
ed  and  expected  ?  These  were  questions  I  could  not  answer. 
What  I  dreaded  most  was,  the  possible  effect  of  a  raid  by  way 
of  the  lakes  on  the  Confederate  sympathizers  and  the  anti-war 
party.  Would  it  stimulate  them  to  make  greater  exertions 
than  ever  to  bring  the  conflict  to  a  close,  or  would  this,  bring 
ing  the  war  to  the  doors  of  themselves  and  their  neighbors, 
turn  them  against  us  ?  I  confess  that  I  had  fears  of  the  latter 
result,  for  I  had  a  not  ill-founded  distrust  of  these  people,  who 
are  neither  one  thing  nor  the  other ;  and  I  believed  that  had 
the  Copperheads  wielded  their  influence,  as  they  might  have 
done,  they  could  either  have  prevented  the  war  in  the  begin 
ning,  or  could  have  forced  a  conclusion  long  ago. 

What  power  the  opponents  of  the  war  were  able  to  exert 
would,  however,  be  determined  very  shortly.  A  presidential 
election  was  coming  off  in  a  few  weeks,  and  the  greatest  ex 
citement  with  regard  to  the  political  battle  that  was  being 
waged  prevailed.  Nearly  everybody  admitted  that  the  defeat 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  for  a  second  term  would  mean  that  a  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  North  were  ready  and  anxious  to  abandon 
the  contest,  and  to  let  the  seceding  Southern  states  go  in  peace. 
The  fact  that  the  Democratic  candidate  was  a  Federal  general, 
who  had  been  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies,  and  who  pro 
fessed  to  be  willing  and  anxious  to  carry  on  the  Avar,  did  not 
please  me  very  well,  for  it  indicated  to  my  mind,  very  plainly, 
that  the  anti-war  people  were  afraid  to  oppose  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  the  war  party  on  a  square  issue. 

I,  however,  was  nothing  of  a  politician,  and  did  not  profess 
to  understand  the  ways  of  politicians,  they  being  a  class  of  men 
for  whom  I  had  no  special  admiration.  But  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  the  Confederate  government  and  the  people  of 
the  South  were  basing  too  many  hopes  on  what  the  Democrats 
would  be  able  to  do  at  this  election.  I  knew  that  they  in 
many  ways  were  doing  what  they  could  to  secure  a  Democratic 
victory  ;  but,  for  my  part,  I  relied  far  more  on  bullets  than  on 
ballots  to  give  the  South  the  victory,  and  I  expected  more 


432  BARREN   HOPES. 

from  the  great  raid,  for  which  I  was  now  working,  than  I  did 
from  the  election  of  General  McClellan. 

Neither  the  raid  nor  the  election  turned  out  as  it  was  hoped 
they  would,  but  just  about  that  time  barren  hopes  were  pretty 
much  all  that  Confederate  patriotism  and  enthusiasm  were  fed 
on,  and  they  were  rapidly  getting  starved  for  lack  of  more 
solid  meat.  The  failure  of  the  contemplated  raid  in  the  rear, 
and  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  put  an  end  to  all  expecta 
tions  of  such  a  division  of  sentiment  at  the  North  as  would 
be  of  any  benefit  to  the  Confederacy,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
be  done  but  to  fight  the  thing  out  to  the  bitter  end. 

The  period  which  preceded  the  overthrow  of  the  Confed 
eracy  was,  however,  one  of  brilliant  campaigning  and  desper 
ate  fighting,  and  was  the  time  when  the  Confederate  agents 
and  spies  at  the  North  labored  with  the  greatest  assiduity. 
The  performances  of  these  agents  and  spies  have  never  yet 
been  related  as  they  deserved  to  be,  and  this  narrative  of  my 
adventures,  personal  as  it  is  in  its  nature,  and  limited  as  it 
necessarily  is  in  its  scope,  will,  I  trust,  be  regarded  as  a  not 
uninteresting  or  unimportant  contribution  to  a  history  of  some 
of  the  least  understood  phases  of  the  great  conflict. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

JOHNSON'S    ISLAND.  — PREPARATIONS   FOR   AN  ATTACK 
ON  THE   FEDERAL  REAR. 

On  the  Way  to  Sandusky.  —  I  am  introduced  to  a  Federal  Lieutenant  on 
the  Cars,  who  is  conducting  Confederate  Prisoners  to  Johnson's  Island. 
—  He  permits  me  to  converse  with  the  Prisoners,  and  I  distribute  some 
Money  among  them.  —  Arrival  at  Sandusky.  —  First  View  of  Johnson's 
Island. —  I  visit  the  Island,  and  on  the  Strength  of  Colonel  Baker's  Let 
ter  am  permitted  to  go  into  the  Enclosure  and  converse  with  the  Pris 
oners.  —  I  have  a  Talk  with  a  young  Confederate  Officer,  and  give  him 
Money  and  Despatches,  and  explain  what  is  to  be  done  for  the  Libera 
tion  of  himself  and  his  Companions. —  Returning  to  Sandusky,  I  send 
Telegraphic  Despatches  to  the  Agents  in  Detroit,  Buffalo,  and  Indian 
apolis.  —  How  the  grand  Raid  was  to  have  been  made.  —  Its  Failure 
through  the  Treason  or  Cowardice  of  one  Man. 

,T  Parkersburg  I  met  General  Kelley  again, 
and  had  a  talk  with  him,  in  which  he  laugh 
ingly  suggested  that  I  seemed  to  be  in  as 
much  of  a  hurry  to  go  West  as  I  had  been 
to  go  East  the  last  time  he  saw  me.  I  re 
marked,  that  in  war  times  the  enemy  had  a 
way  of  putting  in  appearances  at  various  points  of  the 
compass,  and  that  we  had  to  go  for  him  wherever  he  hap 
pened  to  be,  if  we  didn't  want  him  to  come  to  us.  I  also 
^^  hinted,  with  a  little  maliciousness,  that  perhaps  the 
reason  why  the  war  had  lasted  so  long  was  because  so  many  of 
our  generals  instead  of  going  after  the  rebels  wherever  they 
were  to  be  found,  insisted  on  waiting  for  them  to  come  to  places 
where  it  would  be  most  convenient  to  fight  them.  The  gen 
eral  said  there  was  some  truth  in  that ;  and  that  if  all  the  gen 
erals  were  as  smart  about  doing  what  they  had  to  do  as  I 
seemed  to  be,  the  rebels  would  have  been  whipped  long  ago. 
It  is  pleasant  to  have  commendation  even  from  those  we  are 
fighting  against,  and  I  felt  flattered  at  the  general's  good 
opinion  of  me,  although  I  knew  that  he  was  really  not  aware 
what  good  cause  he  had  to  commend  my  smartness.  I  won- 
28  433 


434  AN   ADVANTAGEOUS   ACQUAINTANCE. 

dered  what  he  would  say  about  ine  if  he  should  suddenly  dis 
cover  what  kind  of  an  'errand  I  was  then  really  on,  and  how, 
as  one  of  Colonel  Baker's  secret  agents,  I  was  aiding  in  the 
execution  of  a  plot,  that,  if  successful,  would  cause  a  panic  at 
the  North  such  as  had  never  yet  been  dreamed  of.  But  such 
things  at  such  a  time  were  not  even  to  be  looked  out  of  the 
eyes,  much  less  hinted  at  with  the  lips,  and  I  parted  from  the 
general,  with  Cincinnati  as  my  next  objective  point,  with  a 
full  expectation  that  ere  long  he  would  hear  of  me,  or  at  least 
of  my  work,  in  a  way  that  would  astonish  him. 

MAKING  THE   ACQUAINTANCE   OF   AN   OFFICER   IN   CHARGE   OF 
CONFEDERATE  PRISONERS. 

After  leaving  Cincinnati  en  route  for  Sandusky,  I  was  intro 
duced  by  the  conductor  to  a  lieutenant  who  had  in  charge 
twenty-seven  Confederate  prisoners.  These  he  was  taking  to 
Sandusky  to  be  placed  on  Johnson's  Island,  and  I,  conse 
quently,  thought  that  he  might  be  an  advantageous  person  to 
know,  and  that  if  I  could  manage  to  get  into  his  good  graces 
I  might  in  some  way  advance  the  interests  of  the  scheme  I  was 
engaged  in  by  means  of  him. 

This  officer  was  a  rather  flashy  young  man,  who  evidently 
thought  that  he  cut  a  very  dashing  figure 'in  his  uniform,  and 
whose  mind  was  given  rather  to  reflection  on  his  own  impor 
tance  than  to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge.  He  was 
not,  however,  without  a  certain  amount  of  good  sense,  and  he 
made  a  far  from  disagreeable  travelling  companion,  for  we 
speedily  got  tolerably  well  acquainted,  and  he  not  only  was 
very  attentive,  but  he  entertained  me  not  a  little  by  his 
conversation. 

Not  knowing  what  use  I  might  have  for  him,  I  tried  to  be 
as  cordial  as  possible,  and  long  before  we  reached  Sandusky 
we  were  on  the  best  of  terms.  I  did  not  find  out  a  great  deal 
from  him  that  was'  worth  knowing,  for  the  reason,  perhaps,  that 
he  did  not  know  anything.  He,  however,  permitted  me  to  have 
a  talk  with  the  prisoners,  whom  I  questioned  as  to  what  com 
mands  they  belonged  to,  when  they  were  captured,  and  other 
matters,  and  gave  them  each  a  dollar  apiece  out  of  Colonel 
Baker's  money.  Beyond  asking  them  questions,  I  did  not  say 
a  great  deal  to  them,  for  I  could  not  know  how  far  they  were 
to  be  trusted  ;  but  I  looked  much  more  than  I  said,  and  several 
of  the  more  intelligent  among  them  exchanged  significant 


THE  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND  PRISON  CAMP.  435 

glances  with  me,  which  intimated  that  they  understood  that  I 
had  a  purpose  in  view  in  cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  the 
lieutenant  so  assiduously,  and  was  disposed  to  befriend  them 
by  any  means  in  my  power. 

As  to  the  lieutenant,  he  took  such  a  decided  fancy  to  me, 
and  was  so  excessively  gallant,  that  he  insisted  upon  paying 
all  my  incidental  expenses  along  the  road.  To  this  I  could 
not,  under  the  circumstances,  permit  myself  to  make  any  ob 
jections,  but  I  was  unable  to  avoid  wondering  whether  it  was 
his  own  cash  or  that  of  Uncle  Sam's  he  was  so  very  free  with. 
That,  however,  was  no  concern  of  mine,  and  it  would  have 
been  even  more  impolite  for  me  to  have  asked  him  the  ques 
tion  than  to  have  declined  to  permit  him  to  pay  my  bills. 

It  was  midnight  when  we  reached  Sandusky.  The  lieuten 
ant,  attentive  to  the  last,  put  me  in  the  hotel  coach,  and  re 
questing  me  to  keep  an  eye  on  his  satchel,  he  excused  himself 
for  a  few  minutes  until  he  could  dispose  of  his  prisoners.  I 
do  not  know  what  he  did  with  them ;  but  while  I  was  waiting 
for  him,  I  was  also  wishing  heartily  that  they  would  manage 
to  give  him  the  slip  and  escape.  Before  a  great  while,  how 
ever,  he  made  his  appearance  again,  and  jumped  in  the  coach. 
We  then  drove  to  the  hotel,  where  he  registered  my  name 
and  procured  "me  a  room.  After  seeing  me  safely  installed  in 
my  quarters  he  said  good-night,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  he 
would  have  the  pleasure  of  escorting  me  to  breakfast  in  the 
morning. 

FIRST  SIGHT  OF  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND. 

When  I  awoke  the  next  morning  I  went  to  the  window,  and, 
drawing  the  blinds,  looked  out  upon  the  lake,  seeing  in  the 
distance  what  I  supposed  to  be  Johnson's  Island.  This  little 
piece  of  ground,  rising  off  there  so  serenely  and  beautifully 
from  the  bosom  of  the  lake,  was  to  be  the  scene  of  my  next 
great  effort  in  behalf  of  the  Confederacy,  —  an  effort  that,  if 
crowned  with  success,  would  bring  me  more  credit  and 
renown,  and  would  do  more  to  promote  the  success  of  the 
cause,  than  all  the  fighting  and  campaigning  I  had  done.  On 
it  were  thousands  of  brave  Confederates,  who  were  sighing 
for  their  homes  in  the  sunny  South,  sighing  to  be  once  more 
on  the  battle-field  fighting  for  Southern  independence,  and,  all 
unconscious  that  the  moment  was  approaching  when  one  good 
blow  rightly  struck  would  not  only  put  an  end  to  their  irksome 
captivity,  but  would  go  far  to  secure  all  that  they  had  taken 


436  PROGRESS  OF  THE  PLOT. 

up  arms  for,  —  all  that  they  had  suffered  for  on  the  battle 
field  and  in  the  prisons  of  the  enemy.  It  was  a  great  respon 
sibility  that  rested  upon  me,  this  preparing  the  way  for  the 
grand  attack  which  was  to  transfer  the  seat  of  war  to  these 
beautiful  lake  shores,  that  was  to  effect  the  release  of  these 
prisoners,  and  that  was,  perhaps,  to  end  the  war ;  and  I  trem 
bled  to  think  that,  perchance  by  some  trifling  slip  or  mistake, 
the  whole  scheme  might  miscarry  and  come  to  nothing. 

"5/Vhen  I  was  dressed,  I  rang  the  bell  for  the  chamber-maid  to 
take  my  card  to  the  lieutenant,  to  let  him  know  that  I  was 
ready  for  breakfast.  When  the  woman  came,  I  asked  her  if 
that  was  Johnson's  Island,  where  the  rebel  prisoners  were 
kept.  She  replied  that  it  was,  and  that  she  "wished  they  were 
away  from  there.  I  asked  her  why,  and  she  said  she  was 
afraid  they  would  break  loose  some  time  and  burn  the  town.  I 
told  her  I  guessed  there  was  no  danger  of  anything  of  that 
kind  happening,  as  there  ought  to  be  soldiers  enough  to  guard 
them.  She  did  not  appear  to  be  at  all  sure  upon  this  point, 
but  seemed  to  think  that  a  general  stampede  of  the  prisoners 
was  a  very  likely  thing  to  happen.  I  was  of  about  the  same 
opinion,  although  I  did  not  tell  her  so,  but  followed  her  down 
stairs  to  the  drawing-room,  where  I  found  my  lieutenant  waiting 
to  take  me  in  to  breakfast. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meal  the  lieutenant  said  that  he 
would  have  to  go  over  to  the  island  with  his  prisoners,  but 
that  he  would  be  back  about  eleven  o'clock,  when,  if  I  would 
permit  him,  he  would  get  a  team  and  we  would  take  a  drive. 
I  thanked  him,  but  declined,  on  the  plea  that  my  engagements 
would  not  permit  of  my  accepting  his  kind  invitation,  although 
I  might  be  able  to  do  so  at  some  future  time.  He  said  he  was 
sorry,  but  that  he  was  afraid  he  would  not  be  able  to  permit 
himself  the  enjoyment  of  my  company  much  longer,  as  it  would 
be  necessary  for  him  to  return  the  next  day,  at  the  latest.  I 
professed  to  be  sorry,  but  was  not  very  much  so,  for  I  wanted 
to  get  rid  of  him,  having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
not  likely  to  be  of  much  more  use  to  me,  while  if  he  pursued 
me  with  his  attentions  he  might  prove  a  serious  impediment  to 
the  proper  execution  of  my  plans. 

So  soon  as  he  was  well  out  of  sight,  I  went  to  the  telegraph 
office,  and  sent  despatches  to  the  Confederate  agents  at  De 
troit  and  Buffalo,  announcing  my  arrival,  and  received  their 
responses.  This  duty  performed,  I  started  for  the  boat  that 
was  to  carry  me  over  to  the  island. 


ADMITTED    TO   THE   PRISON   CAMP.  437 

While  crossing  to  the  prison  camp,  where  so  many  of  my 
comrades  were  confined,  my  mind  was  filled  with  a  thousand 
suppositions  as  to  what  might  happen.  The  least  accident 
might  bring  the  whole  great  scheme  to  nothing,  and  I  felt  a 
nervousness  and  a  dread  of  consequences  at  the  idea  of  under 
taking  the  task  before  me  that  I  had  never  experienced  when 
facing  the  enemy  on  the  battle-field.  So  far  as  any  personal 
danger  was  concerned,  I  was  no  more  sensible  of  fear  than  I 
was  when  the  bullets  were  flying  thick  and  fast  around  me  ; 
but  it  was  a  terrible  sensation,  that  of  feeling  that  the  fate,  of 
a  magnificent  campaign  was  in  my  hands,  and  that  upon  my 
good  management  would  depend  whether  it  could  ever  be 
inaugurated  or  not.  The  sensation  was  such  as  a  general 
might  feel  when  making  the  first  movement  in  a  great  battle 
upon  which  the  fate  of  a  nation  depended.  I  did  not  lose  any 
thing  of  my  coolness  or  my  resolution,  but  I  could  not  help 
being  oppressed,  in  some  degree,  with  the  weight  of  my  re 
sponsibility,  and  could  not  help  wondering  whether  I  would 
succeed  in  doing,  in  good  style,  what  I  had  been  assigned  to 
do,  or  if,  after  I  had  finished  my  part  of  the  work,  my  associ 
ates  would  have  the  skill  and  courage  to  do  theirs. 

IN  THE  JOHNSON'S  ISLAND  PRISON  CAMP. 

On  arriving  at  the  island,  I  showed  my  letter  from  Baker  to 
the  commanding  officer,  and  explained  to  him  that  I  was 
searching  for  a  rebel  spy,  who  was  supposed  to  be  engaged,  or 
to  have  been  engaged,  in  some  plots  which  the  authorities  at 
Washington  were  desirous  to  learn  the  particulars  of.  My 
credentials  were  recognised  as  correct,  and  I  was  accordingly 
admitted,  without  hesitation,  into  the  enclosure,  and  permitted 
to  speak  freely  to.  the  prisoners. 

My  greatest  fear  now  was  that  some  of  the  Confederates 
would  recognize  me,  and  would  say. or  do  something  incau 
tiously  that  would  lead  to  my  detection.  I  was  known  to  a 
good  many  in  the  Confederate  service,  both  officers  and  men, 
as  a  woman,  and  to  a  great  many  more  as  a  man,  and  .there 
was  no  telling  but  that  some  one  among  the  prisoners  might 
be  heedless  enough  to  claim  acquaintance  with  me,  and  thus 
spoil  everything. 

Glancing  around  the  enclosure,  however,  I  could  see  no  signs 
of  recognition  on  any  of  the  faces  of  the  prisoners,  although 
a  number  of  them  were  gazing  curiously  at  me,  and  after  a  bit 


438  UNDER  FALSE  COLORS. 

I  began  to  breathe  a  little  freer,  and  to  be  able  to  inspect  the 
men  rather  more  closely,  with  a  view  of  picking  out  a  suitable 
one  to  communicate  with. 

At  length  I  spied  a  young  officer  whom  I  had  known  slight 
ly  when  I  was  figuring  as  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford,  and 
who  I  knew  to  be  a  particularly  bright,  intelligent  fellow.  I 
concluded,  therefore,  to  speak  to  him,  and  calling  him  to  me, 
asked  him  a  few  immaterial  questions,  until  we  had  walked 
away  out  of  ear-shot  of  the  others. 

CONFERENCE  WITH  A  CONFEDERATE  PRISONER. 

When  we  were  where  no  one  could  overhear  us,  I  said,  "  I 
am  a  Confederate,  and  have  got  in  here  under  false  colors ;  I 
have  something  important  to  say  to  you." 

"  I  hope  you  have  some  good  news  for  us." 

"  Yes,  it  is  good  news  ;  at  least  I  hope  you  will  think  it  is, 
for  it  concerns  your  liberation." 

"  Well,  that  is  good,  if  it  can  be  done,  for  we  are  mighty 
tired  of  this,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  It  will  depend  a  great  deal  on  yourselves  whether  any 
thing  can  be  done ;  but  if  the  prisoners  will  only  co-operate 
in  the  right  spirit,  at  the  right  moment,  with  our  friends  out 
side,  not  only  will  they  secure  their  release,  but  they  will  be 
able  to  hit  the  Yankees  a  staggering  blow." 

His  eyes  sparkled  at  this,  and  I  saw  that  he  was  willing  and 
eager  to  engage  in  almost  any  enterprise  that  promised  to 
secure  his  liberation,  and  I  was  only  fearful  that  in  his  excite 
ment  he  would  do  something  incautious,  that  would  interfere 
with  the  successful  prosecution  of  our  scheme. 

I  therefore  said,  "  You  must  be  very  careful,  keep  cool,  and, 
above  all  things,  don't  give  a  hint  as  to  who  I  am.  Say  that 
I  am  a  Yankee,  if  anybody  asks  you,  and  pretend  that  this 
conversation  was  only  about  how  you  are  treated,  and  whether 
you  do  not  wish  that  the  war  was  over,  whether  you  expect 
to  be  exchanged  soon,  and  matters  of  that  kind." 

"  I  will  fix  that  all  right.  What  is  it  that  the  boys  outside 
are  going  to  do  for  us  ?  " 

"  I  have  a  despatch  here  which  will  tell  you  what  are  the 
arrangements,  what  the  signals  outside  will  be,  and  what  you 
are  to  do  when  you  see  them.  Give  it  to  the  party  it  is  ad 
dressed  to,  and  consider  yourselves  under  his  orders  until 
your  liberation  is  effected.  When  you  are  once  outside  of  the 


PRISONER    ON  JOJfJVSOW  S 


A   PRECIOUS    PACKAGE.  439 

prison  you  will  find  plenty  to  help  you,  and  will  be  able  to 
effect  some  kind  of  an  organization." 

"  Well,  don't  you  want  to  see  the  party  that  the  despatch  is 
for?" 

"  No,  it  won't  do  for  me  to  talk  to  too  many ;  and  it  is  better 
for  a  number  of  reasons,  in  order  to  avoid  any  suspicion,  that  I 
should  not  be  seen  in  conversation  with  him." 

"  Well,  I'll  give  the  despatch  to  him  in  any  verbal  message 
you  may  send." 

I  then  dropped  on  the  ground  a  package  containing  eight 
hundred  dollars,  and  said,  "  There  is  some  money  ;  conceal  it 
as  quick  as  you  can,  and  distribute  it  among  the  men  as  far  as 
it  will  go." 

He  thereupon  sat  down  on  a  block  of  wood  in  front  of  me 
and  commenced  whittling  a  stick,  while  I  stood  close  to  him 
with  my  back  to  the  guard,  and  with  my  skirts  covering  the 
package.  Watching  a  favorable  opportunity,  when  the  guard 
was  looking  another  way,  he  seized  the  package  and  slipped 
it  into  his  boot,  and  then  went  on  whittling  in  as  unconcerned 
a  manner  as  possible. 

I  then  told  him  that  I  would  leave  Sandusky  the  next  day 
at  the  latest,  and  that  with  the  delivery  of  the  despatch  I 
held  in  my  hand,  which  contained  full  and  minute  directions, 
my  part  of  the  business  would  be  finished,  and  that  the  con 
summation  of  the  scheme  would  depend  upon  himself  and  the 
others.  I  cautioned  him  to  be  exceedingly  wary,  and  to  take 
none  of  the  prisoners  into  his  confidence  unless  he  was  per 
fectly  sure  of  their  thorough  reliability. 

He  promised  to  be  discreet,  and  then  wishing  him  good  by 
and  success,  I  shook  hands  with  him,  passing  the  despatch  as 
I  did  so. 

The  precious  paper  once  in  his  possession,  he  started  off, 
whistling  and  whittling  as  he  went,  while  I  hurriedly  returned 
to  the  office,  when  I  told  the  commander  that  I  was  unable  to 
find  the  man  I  was  looking  for,  and  thought  that  I  would  have 
to  visit  some  of  the  other  prison  camps. 

He  said  he  was  sorry,  and  hoped  that  I  would  have  better 
luck  next  time.  We  then  walked  together  towards  the  boat, 
conversing  in  general  terms  about  the  prisoners  and  the  war. 
At  the  landing  we  met  the  lieutenant,  who  seemed  to  be  rather 
surprised  to  see  me  there.  He  exclaimed, "  Why,  have  you  been 
visiting  the  prisoners  ?  If  I  had  known  that  you  wanted  to 
see  them,  I  would  have  escorted  you  over  to  the  Island." 


440  THE  SEARCH   CONTINUED. 

I  did  not  care  to  tell  the  young  man  that,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  I  preferred  to  dispense  with  his  escort,  and  so 
only  said,  "  0,  yes.  I  thought  I  would  like  to  take  a  look  at 
them  5  and  I  can  tell  you,  some  of  those  rebels  are  sharp,  if 
they  are  backwoodsmen.  If  you  don't  look  out,  they  will  be 
getting  away  from  you  some  day." 

The  officers  both  laughed,  and  the  lieutenant  said,  "  I  guess 
not ;  they  are  always  talking  about  doing  that,  but  they  never 
do  it ;  we  have  them  too  fast." 

This  was  a  point  which  I  did  not  care  to  argue  with  him 
just  then,  so  saying  adieu  to  the  commander  of  the  prison,  the 
lieutenant  and  I  stepped  aboard  the  boat,  and  were  soon  on 
our  way  back  to  Sandusky. 

As  we  were  crossing  to  the  town,  the  lieutenant  again  pro 
posed  that  we  should  take  a  drive  that  afternoon.  I,  however, 
excused  myself,  and  gave  him  to  understand  that  I  had  en- 

fagements  which  would  prevent  me  from  meeting  him  again, 
he  young  man,  therefore,  to  my  infinite  relief,  —  for  his  at 
tentions  were  beginning  to  be  troublesome,  —  stated  that  he 
would  return  to  Cincinnati  by  the  first  train ;  and,  when  I 
parted  from  him  in  the  hotel,  I  sincerely  hoped  that  he  would 
do  so,  for  I  did  not  wish  to  have  him  watching  my  move 
ments. 

I  now  wrote  a  letter  to  Colonel  Baker,  in  which  I  stated 
that  the  man  I  was  looking  for  was  not  at  Johnson's  Island, 
and  that  I  thought  I  would  go  on  to  Indianapolis,  and  visit  the 
prison  camp  there.  After  I  had  dined,  not  seeing  the  lieuten 
ant,  I  inquired  for  him,  and  was  told  that  he  had  gone.  Being, 
therefore,  in  no  danger  of  meeting  him  again,  I  went  to  the 
telegraph  office,  and  sent  despatches  to  the  Detroit  and  Buifalo 
agents,  to  notify  them  that  I  had  visited  the  prison  and  ex 
ecuted  my  commission  there,  and  one  to  St.  Louis,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  instructions  under  which  I  was  acting,  for  the 
agent  there  to  send  certain  parties  to  meet  me  at  Indian 
apolis. 

The  next  morning  I  was  off  for  Indianapolis,  to  continue 
the  search  I  had  begun  in  Sandusky,  although  I  desired  very 
much  to  remain  in  the  last  named  city  for  the  purpose  of 
watching  the  progress  of  events,  and,  perhaps,  of  taking  part 
in  any  fighting  that  might  occur.  I  very  well  knew  that  by 
acting  as  a  spy  and  as  a  bearer  of  despatches  I  was  perform 
ing  much  more  valuable  service  than  I  would  as  a  soldier,  and 
yet,  at  the  prospect  of  a  battle,  all  my  fighting  blood  was  up, 


THE  DETAILS  OF  THE  PLOT.  441 

and  I  could  scarcely  restrain  my  desire  to  be  an  active  par 
ticipant  in  the  great  and  exciting  scenes  I  thought  were  about 
to  take  place. 

I  afterwards  wished  that  I  had  remained,  for  I  felt  confident 
that  had  I  been  in  Sandusky  when  the  appointed  time  for 
striking  the  blow  came,  and  had  been  intrusted  with  the 
direction  of  affairs,  there  would  have  been  no  such  miserable 
fizzle  as  actually  did  occur. 

THE  PROPOSED  LAKE  SHORE  RAID,  AND  THE  CAUSE  OF  ITS 

FAILURE. 

The  general  plan,  as  the  reader  has  already  been  told,  was 
to  organize  a  raid  along  the  lake  shores,  to  release  the  prison 
ers,  to  gather  about  us  all  the  Southern  sympathizers  who 
could  be  induced  to  join  us,  and  to  make  such  a  diversion  in 
the  Federal  rear  as  would  compel  the  withdrawal  of  a  large 
force  from  the  front.  We  also  placed  great  reliance  on  the 
effects  of  the  panic  which,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  created, 
and  also  on  British  intervention,  which  it  was  expected  would 
be  brought  about  by  a  border  war,  in  which  it  would  be  im 
possible  to  prevent  trespass  upon  British  territory. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Indians  were  to  be  stirred  up  to  acts 
of  hostility  all  along  the  frontier,  from  the  lakes  to  the  gulf. 

The  prisoners,  as  they  effected  their  escape,  were  to  act 
according  to  circumstances.  Those  at  Sandusky,  and  at  places 
nearest  to  that  point,  were  to  unite  with  the  outsiders,  and 
form  an  army  to  operate  along  the  lake  shores,  and  as  far  into 
the  adjacent  country  as  they  could  penetrate,  while  others 
were  to  endeavor  to  effect  a  junction  with  Price  and  Quantrell 
in  Missouri,  and  to  march  under  their  orders.  * 

The  execution  of  this  scheme  was  to  begin  at  a  certain 
time,  after  the  prisoners  had  been  made  acquainted  with  such 
details  of  the  general  plan  as  were  necessary  to  be  known  by 
them,  by  the  capture  of  the  Federal  gunboat  Michigan,  and 
of  such  other  steamers  as  the  Confederates  could  overpower 
by  stratagem  or  force.  This  being  done,  the  prisoners  on 
Johnson's  Island  were  to  be  notified  by  a  pre-arranged  signal, 
and  were  to  make  a  break  and  overpower  their  guards,  with 
the  assistance  of  the  boats.  The  prisoners  once  free,  the 
organization  of  both  military  and  naval  forces  was  to  be  pro 
ceeded  with  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  all  the  damage  done  to 
the  enemy  that  could  be  done  with  the  means  at  hand. 


442  THE  FAILUEE  OF  THE  PLOT. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  the  Confederates  in  Canada  seized 
the  lake  steamers  Indian  Queen  and  Parsons,  and  started  for 
Sandusky.  On  arriving  off  that  place,  however,  their  signals 
were  unanswered ;  and  after  waiting  as  long  as  they  dared, 
they  were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  something  unexpected 
had  occurred  to  interfere  with  the  success  of  the  plans,  and 
had  no  recourse  but  to  make  their  escape  as  rapidly  as  they 
could,  well  knowing  that  the  Michigan,  if  she  ever  got  her 
guns  to  bear  on  them,  would  blow  them  out  of  the  water  in 
very  short  order. 

The  scheme  fell  through,  not  because  the  party  from  Can 
ada  did  not  keep  their  engagement,  or  were  not  willing  and 
anxious  to  do  all  that  they  had  the  power  to  do,  but  because 
one  of  the  men  who  went  to  Sandusky  for  the  purpose  of  seiz 
ing  the  Michigan  turned  traitor.  I  may,  perhaps,  be  doing 
this  person  an  injustice  in  applying  this  harsh  name  to  him ; 
but  if  he  was  not  a  wilful  traitor,  he  was  a  fool,  and  too  weak 
and  cowardly  to  have  been  intrusted  with  such  responsible 
and^ weighty  duties  as  he  was. 

Arrangements  had  been  made  to  secure  the  attendance  of 
all,  or  nearly  all,  the  officers  of  the  Michigan  at  an  entertain 
ment,  and  during  their  absence  the  vessel  was  to  have  been 
seized.  Before  this  entertainment  could  come  off,  however, 
the  man  to  whom  I  have  alluded  was  either  recognized  as  a 
Confederate,  or  else  he  made  some  drunken  utterances  that 
excited  suspicion.  At  all  events,  he  was  arrested,  and  on  a 
search  being  made,  papers  were  found  in  his  possession  which 
gave  the  Federal  government  full  information  with  regard  to 
the  plot,  and  enabled  them  to  take  means  to  meet  it.  All  this 
mighi^have  happened,  and  yet  no  one  been  seriously  to  blame  ; 
but  this  man,  on  the  papers  being  found  on  him,  confessed 
everything,  and  revealed,  not  merely  the  particulars  of  the 
scheme,  but  who  his  associates  were. 

He  should  have  permitted  himself  to  have  been  torn  limb 
from  limb  before  doing  this,  as  I  would  have  done,  had  I  been 
captured,  sooner  than  I  would  have  revealed  anything  to  the 
enemy. 

The  failure  of  this  raid  caused  much  disappointment  at  the 
South ;  and  the  Confederates  in  Canada,  by  whom  it  had  been 
planned,  and  to  whom  its  execution  was  intrusted,  were  greatly 
censured,  and  were  accused  both  of  treachery  and  lack  of 
courage.  These  censures  and  accusations  were  unjust,  for 
they  did  all  they  could  do ;  and  if  they  were  to  blame  for  any- 


DISGUST   AND   INDIGNATION.  443 

thing,  it  was  in  confiding  in  a  person  or  persons  who  were 
unworthy  of  confidence. 

The  excitement  which  the  capture  of  the  Sundusky  party, 
and  the  discovery  of  what  it  was  that  they  and  the  Confed 
erates  proposed  to  do,  caused  at  the  North,  showed  how  great 
would  have  been  the  panic  that  the  successful  execution  of 
the  scheme  would  have  caused.  I  cannot  express  the  disgust 
and  indignation  I  felt  when  I  heard  that  the  plot  had  failed, 
and  how  it  failed  ;  and  it  was  on  this  account,  as  much  as  any 
thing  else,  that  I  left  the  country  for  a  time,  and  refused  to 
have  anything  more  to  do  with  my  late  associates  and  their 
schemes,  although  I  was  still  intent  upon  doing  all  I  could  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

IN    THE    INDIANAPOLIS    ARSENAL.  —  FAILURE    OF    THE 
PROJECTED     RAID. 

*  I  deliver  Despatches  to  Agents  in  Indianapolis.  —  Waiting  for  Orders. —  I 
obtain  Access  to  the  Prison  Camp,  and  confer  with  a  Confederate  Officer 
confined  there.  —  I  apply  to  Governor  Morton  for  Employment,  and  am 
sent  by  him  to  the  Arsenal.  —  I  obtain  a  Situation  in  the  Arsenal,  and 
am  set  to  Work  packing  Cartridges.  —  I  form  a  Project  for  blowing  up 
the  Arsenal.  —  Reasons  for  its  Abandonment.  —  I  receive  a  suspicious 
Number  of  Letters.  —  How  I  obtained  my  Money  Package  from  the 
Express  Office.  —  I  go  to  St.  Louis,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  Employ 
ment  at  the  Planters'  House,  for  the  Purpose  of  enabling  me  to  gain 
Information  from  the  Federal  Officers  lodging  there.  —  Failing  in  this,  I 
strike  up  an  Acquaintance  with  a  Chambermaid,  and  by  Means  of  her 
pass  Key  gain  Access  to  several  Rooms.  —  I  gain  some  Information  from 
Despatches  which  I  find,  and  am  very  nearly  detected  by  a  Bell  Boy.  — 
I  go  to  Hannibal  to  deliver  a  Despatch  relating  to  the  Indians.  —  Hear 
ing  of  the  Failure  of  the  Johnson's  Island  Raid,  I  return  East,  and 
send  in  my  Resignation  to  Colonel  Baker. 

N  my  arrival  at  Indianapolis,  I  found  two  men 
from  St.  Louis  awaiting  me,  they  having  been 
sent  there  in  compliance  with  my  telegraphic 
despatch  from  Sahdusky.     I  had  a  long  talk 
with  them  about  the  condition  of  affairs,  and 
delivered   the    despatches   I   had   for  them.     One  of 
them  —  a  tall  Missourian  —  was  to  go  to  the  borders, 
to  operate  with  the   Indians,  and  the   other  was   to 
report   to   Quantrell,  on   some   business   of    a    secret 
nature.     I   had   no  idea  what   the    despatch  which   I 
handed  to  this  second  man  was  about,  and,  as  he  did 
not  seem  disposed  to  tell  me,  I  did  not  ask  him. 

In  compliance  with  my  orders,  I  was  now  to  wait  in  Indian 
apolis  until  I  should  receive  directions  to  proceed  elsewhere, 
and  was  to  occupy  my  time  in  obtaining  access  to  the  prison 
camp  for  the  purpose  of  conversing  with  the  prisoners,  in 
forming  them  of  the  movements  that  were  in  progress,  and 
encouraging  them  to  make  an  effort  to  escape,  as  no  rescue 
could  be  attempted  in  their  case. 

444 


THE   CAKE-WOMAN.  445 

Exactly  how  to  get  into  the  prison  enclosure  was  something 
of  a  problem,  as,  for  a  number  of  good  and  sufficient  reasons, 
I  was  desirous  of  doing  this  without  figuring  as  Colonel  Ba 
ker's  agent,  as  I  had  done  at  Sandusky.  Where  there  is  a 
will  there  is  a  way,  nearly  always,  and  I  speedily  found  a 
very  easy  way  to  accomplish  my  object. 

OBTAINING  ADMISSION  TO  THE  INDIANAPOLIS  PRISON  CAMP. 

Walking  out  towards  the  prison  camp,  the  day  after  my 
arrival,  I  determined  to  try  and  get  in,  on  some  plea  or  other, 
and  only  to  fall  back  on  Baker's  letter  as  a  last  resource,  when 
all  other  means  failed.  Not  very  far  from  the  enclosure  I  met 
a  cake-woman,  who,  I  surmised,  was  permitted  to  go  among 
the  prisoners  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  them.  It  oc 
curred  to  me  that,  with  a  little  management,  I  could  obtain 
admission  along  with  her ;  so,  going  up  to  her,  I  purchased  a 
few  cakes,  and  said,  "  Why,  do  you  go  into  the  prison,  among 
those  dirty  rebels  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,"  she  replied ;  "  I  go  in  there  to  sell  them  cakes." 

"  I  did  not  know  that  they  let  any  one  in." 

"  Yes ;  the  officers  all  know  me,  and  the  sergeant  always 
looks  through  my  basket,  to  see  that  I  haven't  anything  con 
traband." 

"  I  would  like  mighty  well  to  go  in  there,  and  see  how  the 
rebels  look.  Do  you  think  they  would  let  me  in  with  you  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  you  come  along  with  me  ;  I'll  get  you  in." 

When  we  came  to  the  gate,  therefore,  and  while  the  ser 
geant  was  examining  her  basket,  the  old  woman  said,  "  Ser 
geant,  this  is  my  sister.  She  came  with  me  to  see  how  the 
rebels  look  ;  she  never  saw  one." 

The  sergeant  laughed,  and  passed  us  both  in,  without  fur 
ther  parley. 

The  cake-woman  went  into  the  quarters,  where,  she  soon 
had  a  crowd  of  men  round  her,  investing  their  cash  —  and 
precious  little  of  it  they  had  —  in  the  contents  of  her  basket. 
Looking  around  me,  I  spied  a  major  belonging  to  Lee's  army, 
whom  I  had  met  in  Richmond,  but  who  had  never  seen  me  in 
female  attire,  and,  going  up  to  him,  I  had  a  hurried  conversa 
tion  with  him,  in  a  low  voice. 

I  told  him  that  now  was  the  time  for  the  prisoners  to  make 
a  break,  if  they  wanted  to  gain  their  freedom,  as  there  were 
no  troops  at  hand  worth  speaking  of. 


446  A  CALL  ON  GOVERNOR  MORTON. 

He  wanted  to  know  whether  there  was  not  danger  of  being 
retaken. 

I  replied,  that  I  did  not  think  there  was,  if  they  made  a 
bold  dash,  and  all  worked  together.  I  then  told  him  what 
was  being  done  elsewhere,  and  explaining  as  well  as  I  could 
the  general  plan  of  operations  that  had  been  arranged,  sug 
gested  that  they  should  try  and  reach  the  southern  part  of 
the  state,  and,  after  crossing  the  river,  report  either  to  Price 
or  Jeff  Thompson.  I  then  gave  him  some  money,  and  hur 
riedly  left  him,  to  rejoin  the  old  cake-woman,  whose  basket 
was  by  this  time  emptied,  and  who  was  prepared  to  leave. 

This  duty  having  been  satisfactorily  performed,  I  wrote  a 
letter  to  Colonel  Baker,  informing  him  that  the  man  I  was 
looking  for  was  not  at  the  Indianapolis  camp,  but  that  I  had 
information  which  led  me  to  think  I  would  find  him  at  Alton. 
I,  therefore,  proposed  to  go  to  that  place,  and  if  he  was  not 
there,  I  would  give  the  whole  thing  up  as  a  bad  job,  and  return 
East. 

AN  APPLICATION  TO  GOVERNOR  MORTON  FOR  EMPLOYMENT. 

I  had  no  intention  of  going  to  Alton,  but  being  under  obli 
gation  to  remain  for  some  time  —  how  long  I  could  not 
know  —  in  Indianapolis,  I  was  desirous  of  employing  myself 
to  the  best  advantage.  Exactly  what  to  get  at,  however,  was 
not  an  easy  thing  to  determine.  After  considering  the  sub 
ject  in  all  its  aspects,  I  resolved  to  go  to  Governor  Morton 
for  the  purpose  of  asking  him  whether  he  could  not  give  me 
some  employment.  My  idea  was,  that  perhaps,  through  the 
influence  of  the  governor,  I  could  obtain  a  clerkship,  or  some 
position  which  would  afford  me  facilities  for  gaining  informa 
tion. 

I  accordingly  called  on  the  governor,  to  whom  I  represented 
myself  as  a  poor  widow,  whose  husband  had  been  killed  in 
the  war,  and  who  had  no  means  of  support.  Governor  Mor 
ton  treated  me  kindly  enough,  although  I  speedily  made  up 
my  mind  that  he  was  by  no  means  as  amiable  and  good-natured 
an  individual  as  my  rather  jolly  friend,  Governor  Brough,  of 
Ohio. 

After  hearing  my  story,  he  said  that  there  was  nothing  he 
could  do  for  me,  but  that  it  was  very  possible  I  might  be  able 
to  obtain  employment  at  the  arsenal,  as  there  were  a  good 
many  women  working  there. 


A   GREAT   TEMPTATION.  417 

This,  it  struck  me,  was  a  most  capital  idea ;  and,  therefore, 
asking  the  governor  to  give  me  some  kind  of  a  note  or  recom 
mendation, —  which  request  he  complied  with  by  writing  a 
few  lines,  —  I  left  him,  to  see  what  I  could  do  at  the  place 
where  they  were  manufacturing  munitions  of  war  to  be  used 
against  my  Confederate  friends. 

I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  the  governor's  note  that  aided 
me,  or  whether  they  were  really  in  want  of  hands,  but  I  was 
told  that  I  could  have  work,  if  I  desired  it.  The  ordnance 
officer—  a  German,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten — said  that 
I  was  to  commence  work  on  Tuesday,  the  day  I  applied  to 
him  being  Saturday. 

A  PROJECT  FOR  BLOWING  UP  THE  ARSENAL. 

At  the  appointed  time  I  appeared  at  the  arsenal,  and  was 
sent  into  the  packing-room,  where  I  was  instructed  in  the 
mystery  of  packing  cartridges.  There  were  about  eighteen 
girls  working  in  the  same  room,  most  of  whom  were  rather 
lightheaded  things,  interested  in  very  nearly  everything 
except  the  business  they  were  paid  for.  A  good  part  of  their 
time  was  employed  in  writing,  reading,  and  discussing  love- 
letters,  which  they  were  interchanging  with  the  soldiers  in 
the  field,  and  a  number  of  them  had  a  good  many  more  than 
one  correspondent. 

The  society  of  these  girls  was  no  pleasure  to  me  whatever, 
especially  as  I  had  things  of  much  more  importance  to  think 
of  than  their  love  affairs.  Immediately  on  Governor  Morton 
suggesting  that,  perhaps,  I  could  obtain  employment  at  the 
arsenal,  the  idea  of  blowing  up  that  establishment  entered  my 
mind.  After  going  to  work,  I  looked  about  me  to  see  how 
this  could  be  done,  and  very  soon  perceived  that  the  thing 
was  possible,  and  without  much  risk  to  myself,  provided  I  took 
proper  precautions. 

I  found,  however,  that  I  would  not  be  able  to  blow  up  the 
arsenal  without  destroying  a  number  of  lives,  and  I  shrank 
from  doing  this.  It  was  a  great  temptation  to  me,  however, 
especially  when  I  reflected  that  I  was  really  in  the  Confed 
erate  service,  and  that  it  was  a  part  of  my  duty  to  do  every 
thing  in  my  power  to  injure  the  enemy.  I  could  not,  how 
ever,  get  it  out  of  my  head  that  there  was  a  wide  difference 
between  killing  people  in  a  fair  fight  and  slaughtering  them 
in  this  fashion  j  and  so,  to  get  myself  out  of  the  way  of  a 


448  FUNDS   RUNNING  LOW. 

temptation  that  was  constantly  growing  stronger  and  stronger, 
I  suddenly  left,  after  having  been  at  work  about  two  weeks. 

Had  it  been  possible  for  me  to  have  destroyed  the  arsenal 
without  loss  of  life,  I  would  most  assuredly  have  done  it ;  but 
the  circumstances  being  what  they  were,  it  has  been  a  great 
satisfaction  to  me  ever  since  that  I  did  not  attempt  anything 
of  the  kind,  just  as  it  has  been  a  satisfaction  to  me  that  I  did 
not  kill  General  Grant  when  I  had  an  opportunity  to  do  so 
on  the  night  after  the  first  day's  fight  at  Shiloh.  I  doubt, 
however,  whether  there  would  have  been  a  great  many  men, 
either  Confederates  or  Federals,  who  would  have  been  so  con 
siderate  in  similar  situations,  especially  if  the  deed  could  have 
been  performed  without  risk  to  themselves.  I  am  confident 
that  I  could  have  fired  the  Indianapolis  arsenal  without  serious 
danger  of  being  detected,  but  I  do  not  suppose  any  one  will 
think  the  worse  of  me  that  I  did  not  do  it. 

The  great  number  of  letters  I  received  from  nearly  every 
quarter,  within  a  very  brief  period,  excited  curiosity  and  re 
mark.  After  my  first  few  visits  to  the  post  office  the  clerk 
began  to  take  notice  of  me,  and  he  would  say  something  nearly 
every  time  I  called  for  my  mail  about  the  extent  of  my  cor 
respondence.  What  he  said  was  in  a  joking  sort  of  a  way,  and 
under  some  circumstances  I  should  have  thought  nothing  of 
it ;  but  not  knowing,  from  day  to  day,  what  might  happen,  it 
caused  me  some  uneasiness  to  attract  this  kind  of  attention, 
both  for  my  own  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  my  correspondents. 
I  very  well  knew  that  did  the  Federal  authorities  suspect  me 
the  least  of  being  a  Confederate  agent,  there  would  be  no 
hesitation  whatever  about  opening  my  letters  ;  and  if  some  of 
them  had  been  opened,  there  would  have  been  fine  revelations ; 
for,  although  many  of  them  were  obscurely  worded,  so  as  not 
to  be  readily  understood  except  by  myself  and  the  others  in 
terested,  it  would  have  been  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to 
have  gained  from  them  a  knowledge  of  some  of  the  most  im 
portant  secret  Confederate  operations ;  and  this  would  not 
have  been  pleasant  for  me  and  some  of  my  associates. 

For  these,  as  well  as  other  reasons,  I  was  anxious  to  leave 
Indianapolis  at  as  early  a  day  as  I  possibly  could,  but  was 
unable  to  move  for  lack  of  orders,  and  also  for  lack  of  cash. 
My  funds,  in  fact,  were  running  very  low,  so  low  as  to  give 
me  considerable  uneasiness  lest  I  should  be  unable  to  meet  my 
expenses ;  and  I  anxiously  awaited  a  remittance,  which,  as  is 
apt  to  be  the  case  with  remittances  that  are  anxiously  awaited, 


A  PERPLEXING  PREDICAMENT.  449 

was  a  long  time  in  coming.  Finally,  I  received  information 
that  a  money  package  had  been  forwarded  to  me  by  express  ; 
but  on  applying  at  the  office  for  it,  I  was  told  that  it  could  not 
be  delivered  unless  I  was  identified. 

This  was  a  perplexing  predicament ;  but  I  had  gotten  myself 
out  of  worse  ones,  and  thought  that  I  would  be  able  to  find  a 
way  to  obtain  possession  of  the  precious  package.  Returning 
to  the  hotel,  therefore,  I  selected  an  envelope  from  one  of  my 
letters,  and  writing  a  letter  to  myself,  as  if  from  my  brother, 
stating  that  such-  and  such  a  package  had  been  forwarded  to 
me,  I  took  it  to  the  manager  of  the  packing  department  at 
the  arsenal,  and  requested  him  to  go  with  me  to  the  express 
office  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  me.  He  did  this  without 
hesitation,  but  was  considerably  astonished  to  see  me  receive 
such  a  large  amount  of  money,  and  said,  "  Why,  your  brother 
must  be  a  very  rich  man  !  " 

"  0,  no,  he  is  not  rich,  but  he  has  been  thinking  of  investing 
some  of  his  spare  cash  in  real  estate  for  some  time,  and  I  told 
him  of  a  good  thing  in  corner  lots,  which  I  urged  him  to  try 
and  do  something  with." 

As  an  explanation  of  my  money  package  this  was  a  trifle 
thin,  but  it  was  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  especially  as  it  was 
no  concern  of  his  whether  IJiad  rich  relations  or  not. 

Within  a  day  or  two  I  received  orders  by  telegraph  to  pro 
ceed  to  Cairo,  which  I  did  forthwith,  and  found,  on  reaching 
that  place,  letters  of  instruction  which  directed  me  to  go  to 
St.  Louis,  and  to  stop  at  the  Planters'  House  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  if  I  could  not  find  out  something  about  projected 
Federal  movements  from  the  officers  who  were  making  it  their 
headquarters. 

From  the  tenor  of  my  instructions  I  judged  that  I  would  not 
be  able  to  do  much  by  going  to  the  table  as  a  guest,  which 
would  also  have  been  inconvenient,  as  it  would  have  neces 
sitated  my  providing  myself  with  a  large  amount  of  dif 
ferent  kind  of  clothing  from  that  which  I  was  then  wearing. 
I  was  figuring  as  a  widow  woman  in  greatly  reduced  circum 
stances,  and,  so  far  as  baggage  was  concerned,  was,  as  the 
soldiers  would  say,  in  light  marching  order.  It  occurred  to  me, 
therefore,  that  the  best  plan  to  pursue  was  to  try  and  obtain 
a  situation  at  the  Planters'  House  as  a  chambermaid.  On 
reaching  St.  Louis,  instead  of  going  to  the  hotel,  I  took  lodg 
ings  at  a  private  house  for  a  few  days,  until  I  could  mature 
my  plans. 

29 


450  IN   SEARCH   OF   INFORMATION. 

On  applying  for  employment  as  a  chambermaid,  I  was  told 
that  there  was  no  vacancy,  and  that  there  was  not  likely  to  be 
any  ;  and  I  saw  very  plainly,  from  the  manner  of  the  individual 
with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject,  that  he  had  no  inten 
tion  whatever  of  giving  me  a  situation. 

NONPLUSSED. 

This  rather  nonplussed  me,  and  I  was  unable  to  determine 
what  device  to  adopt  next.  Some  of  the  information  which  I 
was  requested  to  obtain  was  very  important,  and  I  had  been 
urged  to  use  every  effort  to  get  it.  I  did  not  like  to  give  the 
thing  up  without  having  exhausted  all  my  resources.  I  ac 
cordingly  tried  in  a  number  of  ways  to  find  out  what  I  wanted 
to  know,  but  was  entirely  unsuccessful.  All  that  I  succeeded 
in  discovering  of  any  consequence  was  some  knowledge  of  the 
personal  habits  of  the  officers  who  were  lodged  at  the  Plan 
ters'  House,  and  of  the  times  when  they  were  least  likely  to 
be  in  their  rooms.  My  only  chance,  therefore,  seemed  to  be 
to  gain  access  to  their  quarters  when  they  were  out,  and  to 
the  accomplishment  of  this  I  put  my  wits  to  work. 

When  applying  for  employment  in  the  hotel,  I  struck  up  a 
sort  of  acquaintance  with  one  of  #ie  chambermaids,  of  whom 
I  made  a  variety  of  inquiries  as  to  the  nature  of  the  duties, 
and  of  my  chances  of  getting  a  situation.  This  woman  had 
seemed  disposed  to  be  quite  friendly,  and  I,  therefore,  con 
cluded  to  cultivate  her  acquaintance.  I  was  not  long  in  be 
coming  intimate  with  her ;  and,  as  I  made  her  a  number  of 
little  presents,  and  otherwise  displayed  a  marked  liking  for 
her,  she  speedily  took  a  great  fancy  to  me. 

Having,  as  I  thought,  secured  her  friendship,  I  called  upon 
her  one  evening  and  invited  her  to  go  out  with  me.  She 
consented  to  do  this,  and  we  went  up  to  her  room  together 
for  her  to  arrange  her  toilet.  While  she  was  dressing  I  slipped 
her  pass  key  in  my  pocket.  This  being  secured,  the  next 
thing  was  to  find  an  opportunity  to  use  it. 

When  we  returned  I  had  no  great  difficulty  in  inducing  her 
to  extend  an  invitation  for  me  to  stop  all  night.  We  accord 
ingly  slept  together.  In  the  morning  she  got  up,  dressed 
herself,  and  then,  missing  her  key,  began  an  industrious  search 
for  it,  I  all  the  time  pretending  to  be  asleep.  Unable  to  find 
it,  she  went  out,  and  I  heard  her  ask  one  of  the  other  girls  to 
lend  her  a  key,  saying  that  she  had  lost  hers. 


AT   HANNIBAL.  451 

So  soon  as  she  was  well  out  of  the  way,  I  got  up  and 
dressed  myself,  and  when  I  thought  that  the  officers,  whose 
rooms  I  wished  to  visit,  were  likely  to  be  away,  —  and  I  knew 
that  if  they  had  breakfasted  and  had  left  the  hotel  they  would 
scarcely  be  back  until  lunch  time,  —  I  slipped  down  stairs  to 
execute  my  dangerous  errand. 

Luckily  I  met  no  one,  and  contrived  to  get  into  three 
rooms,  where  I  read  a  number  of  despatches  and  orders,  one 
or  two  of  which  were  of  some  importance,  but  did  not  suc 
ceed  in  discovering  what  I  was  chiefly  in  search  of.  I,  how 
ever,  mastered  the  contents  of  such  papers  as  I  could  lay  my 
hands  on,  for  I  was  bound  to  have  something  to  show  for  my 
labor,  even  if  I  did  not  get  all  I  wanted. 

NEARLY  CAUGHT. 

On  coming  out  of  the  third  room,  I  came  very  near  being 
caught  by  a  bell  boy,  who  turned  into  the  corridor  just  as  I 
had  finished  locking  the '  door.  Putting  on  a  sort  of  bewil 
dered  look,  as  if  I  had  lost  myself,  I  said,  in  an  innocent  sort 
of  a  way,  "  Which  is  the  servant's  staircase  ;  t  think  I  must 
have  got  into  the  wrong  hall." 

The  boy  was  not  particularly  bright,  and,  giving  the  re 
quired  direction,  I  made  off  as  fast  as  I  could,  not  a  little 
satisfied  at  having  escaped  so  easily.  On  the  stairway  I  met 
the  chambermaid,  who  was  bringing  me  up  a  cup  of  coffee. 
This  I  drank,  and  then  bade  her  good-by,  glad  of  an  opportunity 
to  get  away  without  attracting  more  attention. 

On  reaching  my  lodgings  I  wrote  out  the  substance  of  the 
information  I  had  obtained,  and  forwarded  it  to  the  proper 
agent,  with  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  it  seemed  impossible 
for  me  to  learn  anything  more.  In  reply  to  this  note  I  re 
ceived  a  despatch  by  telegraph,  directing  me  to  go  to  Hanni 
bal,  where  I  would  find  a  package  awaiting  me,  which  I  was 
to  deliver  according  to  directions  which  would  be  enclosed. 

I  took  the  boat  for  Hannibal,  and  on  reaching  that  place 
found  Major  T.,  of  the  Confederate  army,  rather  anxiously 
looking  for  me,  as  he  had  received  information  that  orders 
would  be  sent  him  from  New  York  in  an  enclosure  directed  to 
me.  Obtaining  my  package  from  the  express  office,  it  was 
found  to  contain  a  despatch  from  Richmond,  with  orders  for 
the  major  to  treat  with  the  Indians,  and  to  aid  in  the  endeav 
ors  that  were  being  made  to  excite  them  to  acts  of  hostility 


452  NIPPED   IN  THE  BUD. 

against  the  Federal  government  all  along  the  frontier,  from 
the  British  Provinces  to  Mexico. 


END  OF  WESTERN  TRIP. 

The  delivery  of  this  despatch  to  Major  T.  was  the  last 
transaction  of  the  western  trip  which  I  made  under  the  au 
spices  of  Colonel  Baker.  Not  more  than  a  day  or  two  after 
wards  I  learned  of  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  release  the 
Johnson's  Island  prisoners,  and  consequently  of  the  grand 
scheme,  the  success  of  which  I  had  been  laboring  so  hard  to 
promote. 

I  did  not  know  who  was  to  blame  for  this  failure,  but  I  felt 
that  if  all  the  rest  had  done  their  duty  as  efficiently  as  I 
had  done  mine,  success  would  have  crowned  our  efforts.  I, 
therefore,  resolved  to  return  East,  and  to  dissolve  all  connec 
tion  with  my  late  co-workers,  and  with  more  than  half  a  mind 
to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  such  schemes,  or  schemes  of 
any  kind  that  would  require  confederates,  in  the  future.  I 
was  beyond  measure  indignant  when  I  learned,  as  I  did  before 
I  reached  Philadelphia,  that  the  whole  thing  had  fallen  through, 
owing  to  the  blundering  cowardice  and  treachery  of  one  indi 
vidual.  I  did  not  pretend  to  restrain  my  wrath,  but  the  agent 
whom  I  met  at  Philadelphia,  after  I  had  become  cooled  off  a 
little,  persuaded  me  that  there  was  no  use  in  getting  dis 
couraged  by  this  misadventure,  bad  as  it  was,  and  that  there 
was  still  plenty  of  important  work  for  the  Confederacy  to  be 
done. 

I,  however,  was  so  decidedly  unwilling  to  engage  in  any 
similar  enterprise,  at  least  just  then,  that  it  was  proposed  that 
I  should  attempt  something  in  the  blockade-running  line.  By 
doing  this,  it  was  represented,  I  could  not  only  aid  the  cause, 
but  could  make  a  handsome  profit  for  myself  if  I  managed 
rightly,  as  my  commissions  alone  would  amount  to  consid 
erable.  The  proposition  made  to  me  looked  feasible ;  and, 
allowing  myself  to  be  persuaded,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Colonel 
Baker,  resigning  from  the  secret  service,  under  the  plea  that 
I  had  obtained  other  employment  of  a  more  remunerative  and 
more  congenial  character. 

I  really  had  not  the  courage  to  face  Baker  again  after  the 
trick  I  had  played  upon  him,  having  no  idea  what  he  might 
know,  or  might  not  know,  about  my  connection  with  the  pro 
jected  raid  which  had  been  so  effectually  nipped  in  the  bud 


BAKER   STILL   UNSUSPICIOUS.  453 

by  the  arrest  of  the  men  in  Sandusky  who  were  endeavoring 
to  seize  the  gunboat  Michigan.  From  the  tenor  of  the  letter 
which  he  sent  me  in  reply,  however,  I  judged  that  he  neither 
knew  nor  suspected  anything  against  me,  and  I  concluded  that 
I  would  finally  have  occasion  to  make  use  of  him  again,  as  I 
could  not  tell  what  work  I  might  have  to  do  before  the  war 
was  over. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

BLOCKADE-RUNNING. 

Making  Preparations  for  going  into  Business  as  a  Blockade-runner. — 
The  trade  in  Contraband  Goods  by  Northern  Manufacturers  and  Mer 
chants. —  Profits  versus  Patriotism.  —  The  secret  History  of  the  War 
yet  to  be  told.  —  This  Narrative  a  Contribution  to  it.  —  Some  dark 
Transactions  of  which  I  was  cognizant.  —  Purchasing  Goods  for  the 
Southern  Market,  and  shipping  them  on  Board  of  a  Schooner  in  the 
North  River.  —  How  such  Transactions  were  managed.  —  The  Schooner 
having  sailed,  I  go  to  Havana  by  Steamer.  —  On  reaching  Havana  I 
meet  some  old  Friends.  —  The  Condition  of  the  Blockade-running  Busi 
ness  during  the  last  Year  of  the  War.  —  My  Acquaintances  in -Havana 
think  that  the  Prospects  of  the  Confederacy  are  rather  gloomy.  —  I 
visit  Barbadoes,  and  afterwards  St.  Thomas.  —  While  at  St.  Thomas 
the  Confederate  Cruiser  Florida  comes  in,  coals,  and  gets  to  Sea  aga'in, 
despite  the  Federal  Fleet  watching  her. 


HAD  proven  myself  so  efficient  in  managing 
matters  that  required  to  be  managed  with  skill, 
boldness,  and  discretion,  during  the  time  I  had 
been  co-operating  with  the  Confederate  agents 
at  the  North,  and  especially  daring  my  late 
Western  trip,  that  my  associates  were  more  than 
ever  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of  my  services.  They 
fully  appreciated  my  feelings  over  the  failure  of  the 
Johnson's  Island  raid,  after  I  had  performed  the  part 
assigned  me  so  successfully,  but  they  contended  that 
I  would  not  be  acting  an  heroic  part  to  forsake  the  fortunes 
of  the  Confederacy  just  at  this  juncture,  when,  although 
things  were  looking  exceedingly  gloomy,  there  was  a  chance 
that  success  might  yet  be  achieved  if  all  the  friends  of  the 
cause  would  stick  together,  and  labor  with  even  more  than 
their  old  energy  to  achieve  success  in  the  face  of  every 
opposition. 

It  was  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  persuade  me  to  con 
tinue  to  act  as  a  Confederate  secret  service  agent,  although  I 
was  too  angry  over  the  Johnson's  Island  matter  to  be  willing 

454 


TRIBULATIONS    OF   BLOCKADE-RUNNERS.  455 

to  place  myself  in  peril  very  soon  again  by  attempting  to 
play  a  double  game,  as  I  had  been  doing  with  Colonel  Baker 
and  other  Federal  officials.  I  was  willing  to  risk  as  much  as 
any  one  when  there  was  a  fair  chance  of  accomplishing  any 
thing,  but  I  was  not  willing  to  undertake  enterprises  of 
extraordinary  peril,  and  to  run  the  chance  of  being  betrayed 
through  either  the  stupidity  or  the  treachery  of  those  who 
professed  to  be  working  with  me. 

I  did  not  know  how  much  information  Baker  might  have 
with  regard  to  my  recent  doings,  but  thought  that  it  would  be 
rather  remarkable  if  he  and  other  government  detectives  had 
not  discovered  something  which  it  was  not  especially  advan 
tageous  to  me  that  they  should  be  informed  of.  I  had  no 
very  great  opinion  of  their  smartness,  but,  considering  all 
that  I  had  been  doing,  the  peculiar  relations  which  I  held  to 
Baker, "and  the  opportunities  which  the  arrest  of  the  Confeder 
ate  agents  in  Sundusky  had  given  for  them  to  obtain  the 
full  particulars  of  the  plot,  and  the  names  of  those  prominent 
ly  concerned  in  it,  I  did  not  care  to  cultivate  the  acquaint 
ance  of  Baker  and  the  members  of  his  corps  any  further  just 
then,  and  was  not  sorry  to  have  an  opportunity  to  leave  the 
country  for  a  time. 

BUYING  GOODS  FOR  THE  SOUTH. 

This  opportunity  was  afforded  in  a  proposition  that  I  should 
purchase  a  quantity  of  goods  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
to  fill  Southern  orders,  and  should  go  to  the  West  Indies  with 
them  as  a  sort  of  supercargo,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  for 
their  shipment  to  different  Southern  ports.  I  was  also  to 
supervise  the  shipment  of  a  variety  of  goods  of  various  kinds 
from  Europe. 

It  was  thought  that,  as  in  the  cases  of  the  proposed  raid,  a 
woman  would  be  able  to  do  a  great  many  things  without 
exciting  suspicion,  that  it  would  be  hazardous  for  a  man  to 
attempt.  It  was  daily  getting  to  be  more  and  more  difficult 
to  smuggle  goods,  especially  merchandise  of  a  bulky  nature, 
through  the  blockading  fleet.  The  tribulations  of  the  block 
ade-runners,  however,  did  not  begin  when  they  approached 
the  beleaguered  ports  of  the  Confederacy.  There  were  great 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  purchasing  goods,  especially  at  the 
North,  and  of  getting  them  shipped  in  safety,  and  then,  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  they  had  to  be  taken  to  some  point  in 


456  NO   QUESTIONS   ASKED. 

the   West   Indies   to   be    re-shipped,  all   of  which   involved 
trouble,  expense,  and  risk. 

The  purchase  and  shipment  of  goods  at  places  like  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  required  particularly  discreet  manage 
ment.  There  were,  doubtless,  some  merchants  and  manu 
facturers  who  would  not  knowingly  have  sold  to  Confederate 
agents,  or  for  Confederate  uses  in  any  shape.  For  such,  I 
had  and  have  every  respect,  for  they  were  entirely  honest 
and  consistent  in  their  opposition  to  the  secession  of  the 
Southern  States.  I  am  very  much  afraid,  however,  that  these 
were  few  in  number,  and  I  know  that  the  prospect  of  cash 
payments  and  handsome  profits  caused  many  men,  who  were 
loud  in  their  profession  of  loyalty  to  the  Federal  government, 
and  bitter  in  their  denunciations  of  the  South,  to  close  their 
eyes  to  numerous  transactions  of  a  doubtful  character  when 
opportunities  for  making  a  good  round  sum,  without  danger 
of  detection,  were  presented. 

CONTRABAND  TRADING. 

Some  Northern  merchants  and  manufacturers  sold  goods, 
either  immediately  or  at  second  hand,  to  Confederate  agents 
innocently  enough,  being  deceived  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
transactions.  No  dealers  could  be  expected  to  maintain  a 
corps  of  detectives  for  the  purpose  of  watching  their  custom 
ers  and  of  tracing  out  the  destination  of  the  goods  purchased 
from  them,  and  thus  the  most  ardent  and  enthusiastic  sup 
porters  of  the  Federal  government  were  liable  to  be  imposed 
upon.  That  some  of  these  men  were  honest  I  know,  for  I 
am  aware  of  instances  where  the  sale  of  goods  has  been 
refused,  on  the  plea  that  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  the 
intention  was  to  send  them  South.  These  refusals  have  been 
made  where  the  sales  could  have  been  effected  with  entire 
safety  and  with  perfect  propriety,  so  far  as  outward  appear 
ances  went. 

These  very  fastidious  people  were  not  numerous,  however, 
and  in  the  majority  of  business  houses  the  practice  was  to 
welcome  all  customers,  and  to  ask  no  questions.  In  many 
large  establishments,  the  chiefs  of  which  were  noted  for  their 
"  loyalty,"  confidential  clerks  could  be  found  with  whom  it 
was  possible  to  transact  any  amount  of  contraband  business, 
especially  if  the  cash  was  promptly  forthcoming.  Some  of 
these  people,  I  am  sure,  were  well  aware  of  what  their 


VENIAL    OFFENCES.  457 

subordinates  were  doing ;  with  regard  to  others,  I  am  in 
doubt,  but  think  that  they  could  scarcely  have  been  ignorant 
of  what  was  going  on,  and  only  wanted  to  be  able  to  say,  in 
case  of  any  difficulties  occurring,  that  they,  personally,  were 
not  to  blame. 

There  were,  of  course,  numerous  manufacturers,  merchants, 
jobbers,  brokers,  and  others,  who  were  eager  to  make  money 
wherever  it  could  be  made,  and  whose  only  object  in  conceal 
ing  their  transactions,  so  far  as  the  Southern  market  was  con 
cerned,  was  to  avoid  getting  into  trouble.  Some  of  these 
people  were  loyal  to  the  Federal  government  after  a  fashion, 
while  others  were  as  undisguised  in  their  expressions  of 
sympathy  for  the  South  as  they  dared  to  be.  Political 
partisanship  was,  however,  not  a  very  strong  point  with  either 
set ;  they  considered  it  legitimate  to  make  money  by  the 
buying  and  selling  of  goods,  without  regard  to  what  the 
politicians  at  Washington  and  elsewhere  might  think  or  do  j 
and,  so  long  as  they  bought  and  sold  in  a  reasonably  honest 
manner,  their  consciences  did  not  trouble  them.  With  such 
as  these,  I  and  my  associates  found  it  easy  to  deal. 

If  it  was  easy,  it  was  not  always  satisfactory  to  deal  with 
people  of  this  kind  ;  and  during  the  last  year  of  the  war, 
especially,  some  of  the  largest  transactions  were  with  houses 
that  had  reputations  to  lose,  and  that  were  managed  by  men 
who  aimed  to  stand  high  in  the  regards  of  the  government, 
and  with  those  of  their  fellow-citizens  who  supported  the 
government.  To  do  business  with  such  houses  required 
some  finesse,  but,  except  in  rare  instances,  it  could  be  done, 
without  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  and,  as  I  am  convinced,  in 
a  majority  of  cases,  with  the  approbation  of  the  heads  of 
the  concerns. 

CIRCUMSTANCES  ALTER  CASES. 

Looking  at  this  buying  and  selling  from  a  Southern  point 
of  view,  it  was  not  only  legitimate  and  proper,  but  it  was  a 
violation  of  every  natural  or  political  right  for  the  Federal 
government  to  interfere  with  it.  From  a  Northern  point  of 
view,  however,  it  was  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy, 
and  it  was  discreditable,  according  to  the  extent  which  those 
engaged  in  it  professed  to  be  in  favor  of  coercing  the  South, 
and  of  sustaining  the  government  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
war. 


458          THE  DEPRAVITY  OF  HUMAN  NATURE. 

The  sale  of  goods  for  the  Southern  market,  and  the  active 
or  surreptitious  encouragement  of  blockade-running,  were, 
however,  very  venial  offences  compared  with  some  others  that 
were  committed  by  people  at  the  North,  who  professed  to  be 
eager  for  the  subjugation  of  the  South.  Now  that  the  war  is 
over,  a  good  many  who  made  money  by  supplying  the  South 
with  contraband  articles,  other  than  munitions  of  war,  can 
afford  tO'laugh  at  the  perils  they  then  ran,  and  to  tell,  without 
fear,  of  the  kind  of  business  they  were  engaged  in.  As  the 
reader,  however,  will  discover,  there  was  an  immense  amount 
of  evil  and  rascality  going  on,  and  some  of  the  most  trusted 
officers  of  the  government  were  engaged  in  transactions  con 
cerning  which  there  could  not  possibly  be  two  opinions. 

VILLANY. 

With  some  of  these  transactions  I  had  considerable  to  do, 
and  I  was  cognizant  of  undiluted  villany  that  unveiled  depths 
of  human  depravity  such  as  I  never  would  have  believed  to 
be  possible,  had  I  not  been  brought  in  such  close  contact 
with  it. 

It  may  be  thought  by  some  who  read  this  part  of  my 
narrative  that  I  was  as  much  in  fault  as  those  with  whom  I 
consented  to  associate  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the 
object  I  had  in  view.  I  do  not  despair,  however,  of  finding 
readers,  even  in  the  Northern  States,  who  will  be  able  to  take 
a  liberal  and  charitable  view  of  my  course,  and  to  consider 
that  I  was  acting  as  best  I  knew  how  to  promote  the  success 
of  a  cause  which  I  felt  to  be  a  just  one,  and  that  I  considered 
myself  as  justified  in  doing  the  Federals  all  the  injury  I  could, 
and  in  promoting  the  interest  of  the  Confederacy  by  every 
means  in  my  power.  I  am  willing,  therefore,  to  brave  the 
censure  of  some,  and  the  only  partial  approval  of  others,  for 
the  sake  of  making  my  narrative  complete,  and  of  putting 
upon  record  some  very  curious  features  of  the  great  contest 
between  the  North  and  the  South. 

These  things  have,  many  of  them,  never  been  told  before, 
although  dark  hints  with  regard  to  them  have  been  dropped 
from  time  to  time.  They,  however,  are  far  from  being  unimpor 
tant,  as  they  exerted  an  influence,  more  or  less  potent,  on  the 
progress  of  the  war,  and  no  history  of  the  great  contest  will 
be  complete  unless  they  are  understood  and  a  proper  con 
sideration  given  them. 


THE   SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR.  459 

In  fact,  there  is  a  secret  history  of  the  war,  records  of  which 
have  never  been  committed  to  paper,  and  which  exists  only  in 
the  memories  of  a  limited  number  of  people.  That  this  secret 
history  will  ever  be  written  out  with  any  degree  of  fulness  is 
scarcely  possible,  for  reasons  that  will  readily  be  understood ; 
but  some  idea  of  what  it  will  be  like,  should  it  ever  be 
written,  may  be  gathered  from  these  pages.  When  I  con 
cluded  to  give  to  the  public  a  narrative  of  my  adventures, 
I  determined  to  make  it  as  complete  as  possible,  so  far  as  I 
myself  was  concerned,  for,  during  the  whole  four  years  I 
neither  said  nor  did  anything  that  I  am  not  willing  the  world 
should  know.  With  regard  to  my  associates,  Confederates 
and  others,  who  were  mixed  up  with  me  in  certain  transac 
tions,  the  case,  however,  is  different.  I  deem  it  proper,  in 
certain  cases,  to  refrain  from  mentioning  their  names,  as  many 
of  them  are  still  living,  and  might  yet  get  into  trouble  through 
my  utterances.  I  kept  faith  with  them  when  we  were  acting 
together,  and  will  do  so  still,  although  some  of  them  were 
villains  of  the  blackest  dye,  who  richly  deserve  any  punish 
ment  that  the  law  against  which  they  offended  is  capable  of 
inflicting  upon  them. 

Having  consented  to  make  a  trip  to  the  West  Indies,  I  com 
menced  my  preparations  immediately,  and  was  soon  as  deeply 
engaged  in  commercial  matters  as  I  had  recently  been  in 
some  of  not  quite  so  peaceful  a  character.  Having  once  got 
started,  I  speedily  found  trade,  and  especially  this  kind  of 
trade,  quite  as  exciting  as  warfare,  while  it  had  certain  attrac 
tions,  in  the  way  of  prospective  profits,  that  fighting  certainly 
did  not  possess. 

I  had  some  few  transactions  with  Philadelphia  houses,  but 
they  were  none  of  them  very  important,  and  most  of  my  fit 
ting  out  was  done  in  New  York,  where  I,  and  those  with 
whom  I  was  connected,  labored  for  a  number  of  weeks,  with 
all  possible  zeal,  being  resolved  to  make  the  venture  a  profit 
able  one  for  ourselves,  as  well  as  of  advantage  to  the  Confed 
eracy. 

FITTING  OUT  A  SCHOONER. 

The  first  thing  done  was  the  chartering  of  a  schooner  and 
the  engaging  of  a  warehouse.  In  this  warehouse  our  goods 
were  stored  until  we  were  ready  to  load.  The  watchman  was 
perfectly  aware  that  we  were  engaging  in  contraband  traffic, 


460  THE  LOVE   OF  GAIN. 

but,  as  he  was  paid  handsomely  for  holding  his  tongue,  he 
kept  his  own  counsel  and  ours.  When  everything  was  ready, 
the  schooner  was  loaded  at  Pier  No.  4,  North  River,  and  she 
sailed  for  Havana  with  a  regular  clearance,  one  of  my  asso 
ciates  making  matters  all  right  at  the  custom-house,  so  that 
the  vessel  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  away. 

The  greatest  trouble  we  had  was  not  in  getting  our 
schooner  to  sea,  but  in  making  our  purchases  without  ex 
citing  suspicion  that  we  intended  to  find  our  market  in  some 
Confederate  port.  To  do  this  required  circumspect  manage 
ment  ;  but  some  of  those  with  whom  I  was  co-operating  had 
done  this  sort  of  thing  before,  and  knew  how  to  go  about  it ; 
while  I  was  not  long  in  learning  all  the  tricks  of  the  trade,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  perform  the  part  assigned  me  with  as  much 
shrewdness  as  any  of  them. 

According  to  the  plan  which  we  arranged,  I  was  to  pretend 
that  I  intended  opening  a  store,  and  was  to  visit  some  of  the 
largest  houses,  and  obtain  their  prices  and  terms  of  payment. 
The  terms  varied  from  sixty  to  ninety  days,  or  so  much  off  for 
cash.  At  one  of  the  most  extensive  dry  goods  establishments 
in  New  York,  —  Messrs.  C —  -  &  Co.,  —  I  inquired  for  a  Mr. 

B ,  who,  on  being  informed  that  I  had  been  sent  to  him 

by  certain  parties,  whose  names  I  mentioned,  introduced  me 
to  a  confidential  clerk,  who  undertook  to  fill  my  orders,  and 
deliver  the  goods  in  accordance  with  my  instructions.  He 
understood  the  whole  matter  thoroughly,  and,  from  various 
expressions  he  let  drop  in  conversation,  I  had  no  difficulty  in 
concluding  that  his  firm  was  doing  a  big  contraband  trade, 
although  the  principals,  like  many  other  prominent  merchants, 
were  taking  especial  good  care  not  to  be  known  as  having 
anything  to  do  with  it. 

The  leading  members  of  this  firm  were  very  prominent  as 
upholders  of  the  Federal  cause,  and  it  would  have  been  ruin 
to  them  had  it  been  found  out  that  they  were  surreptitiously 
shipping  goods  to  the  South.  I  never  was^quite  able  to  make 
up  my  mind  whether  they  really  knew  what  was  going  on  or 
not.  At  any  rate,  all  the  arrangements  for  carrying  on  a  con 
traband  traffic  were  very,  complete  in  their  establishment,  and 
any  one  going  there  with  proper  credentials  was  sure  of  re 
ceiving  every  attention.  If  these  gentlemen  did  not  know 
what  their  employees  were  doing,  they  were  much  less  shrewd 
than  they  had  the  credit  of  being ;  and  I  am  afraid  that  a  love 
of  gain  was  a  more  powerful  incentive  in  their  bosoms  than 


SEASICK.  461 

loyalty  to  the  cause  for.  which,  in  public,  they  professed  so 
much  devotion,  and  for  which  they  professed  a  willingness  to 
make  almost  any  sacrifices. 

With  some  houses  we  had  less  difficulty  even  than  with  the 
one  mentioned,  and  with  others  much  more  ;  and  in  several 
places  we  were  compelled  to  make  our  purchases  under  more 
or  less  plausible  pretexts,  and  to  arrange  for  having  our  goods 
delivered  so  that  those  from  whom  we  obtained  them  would 
have  no  idea  what  their  destination  was. 

It  was  a  troublesome  matter  getting  our  cargo  together, 
but  finally,  after  many  anxious  days  and  nights,  during  which 
we  expected  every  moment  to  be  pounced  upon  by  the  Fed 
eral  authorities,  our  schooner  was  loaded  with  wines,  drugs, 
boots,  shoes,  buttons,  and  military  goods.  I  also  filled  several 
private  orders,  and,  among  other  things,  purchased  a  hand 
some  sword  and  belt  and  a  fine  pair  of  pistols.  These  I  ob 
tained  through  a  sergeant  stationed  at  Governor's  Island, 
whose  acquaintance  I  made,  and  who  proved  useful  to  me 
afterwards  in  a  variety  of  transactions,  which  will  be  narrated 
in  their  due  order. 

THE  SCHOONER  GETS  SAFELY  OFF. 

Everything  being  ready,  the  schooner  set  sail,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  her  port  without  being  overhauled.  So 
soon  as  she  was  off,  I  prepared  to  start  by  the  steamer  for 
Havana,  having  orders  for  coffee  and  other  supplies  to  the 
Confederate  agent  there.  These  goods  had  been  shipped 
from  Antwerp,  and  other  places  in  Europe,  and  from  New 
York,  and  they  were  to  be  sent  from  Nassau  to  Brownville, 
Texas,  under  consignment  to  the  Confederate  quartermaster 
or  agent  there,  who,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  was  a  Captain 
Shankey. 

This  trip  to  Havana  was  scarcely  as  pleasant  as  the  one  I 
had  made  to  that  city  from  New  Orleans  in  the  summer  of 
1862.  The  Atlantic  Ocean  I  found  to  be  a  great  deal  rougher 
than  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and,  for  nearly  half  the  voyage,  the 
weather  was  very  stormy.  The  result  was,  that  I  was  too 
sick  to  have  much  enjoyment  for  a  couple  of  days ;  but, 
having  recovered  from  my  attack  of  mal  de  mer,  I  began  to 
enjoy  myself,  and  felt  benefited  by  the  sea  air.  I  was  not 
sorry,  however,  when  the  shores  of  my  beautiful  native  island 
began  to  appear  in  the  distance,  and  felt  much  satisfaction 


462  COLD-BLOODEDNESS. 

when   our  vessel  steamed   in  under  the  guns  of  the   Moro 
Castle,  and  anchored  off  the  city  of  Havana. 

A  SECOND  VISIT  TO  HAVANA. 

In  Havana  I  found  a  number  of  my  old  acquaintances  of 
1862,  who  were  as  busily  engaged  as  ever  in  running  the 
blockade,  although  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  business 
gave  them  much  discomfort.  The  profits  of  a  successful  trip, 
however,  were  so  great  that  they  could  afford  to  brave  them, 
and  to  submit  to  large  losses  through  the  vigilance  of  the 
Federal  cruisers.  In  fact,  despite  the  annoyances  experi 
enced  from  the  blockaders,  who  were  becoming  exceedingly 
keen  in  their  scent  after  prizes,  blockade-running  was  yet  a 
very  paying  business,  and  the  men  engaged  in  it  would  have 
been  quite  willing  that  the  war  should  have  continued  indefi 
nitely,  so  long  as  their  ventures  yielded  as  handsome  results 
as  they  did. 

What  gave  these  people  the  most  uneasiness  at  the  time 
of  which  I  write,  was,  not  the  stringency  of  the  blockade,  but 
a  prospect  that  the  war  would  speedily  come  to  an  end. 
They  watched  the  course  of  events  critically  and  anxiously, 
but  from  a  very  different  standpoint  from  that  of  myself  and 
my  associates,  North  or  South,  and  I  was  not  a  little  startled 
by  the  evident  belief  that  the  collapse  of  the  Confederacy 
was  near  at  hand.  The  cold-blooded  way  in  which  they  con 
sidered  such  a  calamity,  and  the  purely  pecuniary  light  in 
which  they  regarded  it,  shocked  me,  and  greatly  excited  my 
indignation.  I  could  not  but  acknowledge  the  force  of  much 
of  their  reasoning,  however,  although  their  total  indifference 
to  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy,  except  so  far  as  it  affected 
their  opportunities  for  money-making,  had  the  effect  of  re 
viving  my  enthusiasm,  and  of  making  me  more  than  ever 
resolved  to  labor  for  the  success  of  the  cause  while  a  glimmer 
of  hope  remained. 

A  TRIP  TO  BARBADOES. 

Having  transacted  my  business  in  Havana,  I  started  for 
Bridgetown,  Barbadoes,  to  make  arrangements  there  for  the 
shipment  of  goods.  I  went  from  Havana  to  St.  Thomas  in 
the  steamer  Pelyo,  and  from  St.  Thomas  to  Bridgetown  in  a 
British  steamer.  The  purser  of  the  last-mentioned  vessel 


THE   ESCAPE   OF   THE   FLORIDA.  463 

was  particularly  attentive  to  me ;  indeed,  I  had  not  had  so 
persistent  an  admirer  since  the  time  I  was  escorted  to  Mem- 
.phis  by  the.  Federal  lieutenant,  whose  fancy  for  me  I  turned 
to  such  good  purpose  in  carrying  out  my  plans.  The  purser 
gave  me  his  photograph,  and  made  me  promise  to  write  to 
him.  The  photograph  I  kept,  and  have  given  it  a  proper 
place  in  my  collection  of  curiosities,  but  the  promise  to  write 
I  am  afraid  I  broke.  I  hope  the  purser,  who  was  a  very  good 
fellow  in  his  way,  did  not  break  his  heart  in  consequence. 

At  Bridgetown  I  was  received  very  kindly  by  the  friends 
of  the  Confederacy  there,  but  was  disappointed  at  finding  that 

Mr.  M ,  the  gentleman  whom  I  was  to  see,  was  absent.  I, 

however,  left  my  orders  with  his  secretary,  and  started  to 
return  to  New  York  by  way  of  St.  Thomas. 

At  St.  Thomas  I  was  compelled  to  wait  some  days  for  the 
steamer,  during  which  time  the  Confederate  cruiser  Florida 
came  in  under  the  noses  of  the  Federal  fleet,  coaled,  and  put 
to  sea  again.  One  of  the  Federal  men-of-war  which  was 
watching  her  was  deluded  into  giving  chase  to  a  mail  steamer, 
and  the  Florida  succeeded  in  slipping  off,  and  getting  out  of 
harm's  way  before  she  discovered  her  mistake  —  a  perform 
ance  which  afforded  me  exceeding  great  delight. 

While  in  St.  Thomas  I  succeeded  in  contracting  a  loan 

with  Messrs.  V &  Son,  a  Belgian  firm,  on  account  of  the 

Confederate  agents  in  Canada,  and,  this  being  done,  I  was 
ready  to  return  to  New  York  by  the  first  steamer. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

AN    ATTACK    ON    THE    FEDERAL    TREASURY. 

The  Bounty-jumping  and  Substitute-brokerage  Business.  —  Rascalities  in 
high  Life  and  low  Life.  — Bounty-jumpers  and  Substitute-brokers  not  the 
worst  Rogues  of  the  Period.  —  High  Officials  of  the  Government  impli 
cated  in  Swindles.  —  Baker's  Raid  on  the  treasury  Ring,  and  the 
Charges  of  Conspiracy  brought  against  him  by  Members  of  Congress 
and  others.  —  A  Committee  of  Congress  exonerates  the  guilty  Parties, 
and  blames  Baker  for  exposing  them.  —  What  I  know  about  these 
Transactions.  —  Money  needed  to  carry  on  the  Confederate  Operations 
at  the  North.  —  Federal  Officials  countenancing  the  Issue  of  counterfeit 
Confederate  Bonds  and  Notes.  —  I  go  to  Washington  for  the  Purpose 
of  getting  in  with  the  Treasury  Ring.  —  A  rebel  Clerk  introduces  me  to  a 
high  Official,  who,  on  Condition  of  sharing  in  the  Profits,  introduces  me 
to  the  Printing  Bureau  of  the  Treasury.  —  The  Trade  with  England  in 
bogus  Federal  and  Confederate  Securities.  —  Making  Johnny  Bull  pay 
some  of  the  Expenses  of  the  War. 

N  my   return    to   New   York,   circumstances 
occurred  which  called  my  special    attention 
to  the  operations  of  the  bounty-jumpers  and 
substitute-brokers,     and     having     no     other 
schemes  on  hand,  I  was  induced  to  interest 
myself  in  the  business  of  reducing  the  strength  of  the 
Federal  armies  in  the  field,  by  preventing  the  re-en 
forcements  demanded  by  the  government  from  reach 
ing  the  front. 

The  efficiency  of  the  services  rendered  the  Confed 
eracy  by  these  substitute-brokers  and  bounty-jumpers, 
cannot  be  over-estimated.  Large  armies  existed  on  paper ; 
but  while  the  generals  in  command  kept  constantly  and  unin 
terruptedly  calling  for  more  men,  they  failed  to  receive  them 
in  such  numbers  as  were  requisite  for  keeping  their  ranks 
full,  and  many  important  movements  were  rendered  ineffec 
tual,  and  thousands  of  lives  were  needlessly  sacrificed,  simply 
because  the  recruiting  system  adopted  by  the  government 
was  far  better  calculated  for  giving  abundant  employment  to 
rogues  of  the  worst  class,  than  it  was  for  keeping  the  strength 
of  the  army  up  to  the  proper  standard. 

464 


RASCALITIES   OF   THE  WAR   PERIOD.  465 

The  majority  of  these  rogues  were  Northern  men,  who,  if 
they  had  any  political  principles  at  all,  were  Federals.  The 
fact  was,  however,  that  they  did  not  care  the  toss  of  a  button 
which  side  won,  so  long  as  they  were  able  to  make  money  out 
of  the  contest.  The  war,  to  them,  was  a  grand  opportunity 
for  driving  all  manner  of  schemes  for  their  individual  profit, 
and  the  longer  it  was  likely  to  last,  the  better  they  were 
pleased,  giving  no  thought  whatever  to  the  enormous  destruc 
tion  of  life  and  property  that  was  going  on,  or  to  the  incalcu 
lable  misery  that  was  caused  to  thousands  of  people,  all  over 
the  land,  every  day  it  was  waged. 

DEMORALIZATIONS  OF  WARFARE. 

I  presume  that  such  villanies  as  it  will  now  be  my  task  to 
relate  are  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  every  great  armed 
conflict ;  and  if  it  could  be  clearly  understood  that  warfare,  no 
matter  for  what  just  causes  it  may  be  undertaken,  inevitably 
breeds  corruption,  in  its  most  aggravating  forms,  and  that  the 
longer  it  lasts,  the  more  does  demoralization  spread  among  all 
classes  of  society,  right  thinking  people  would  be  apt  to  hes- 
itato  more  than  they  do  about  encouraging  appeals  to  arms 
for  the  settlement  of  national  and  international  differences. 

I  doubt  whether  a  good  many  of  the  people  of  the  North 
who  supported  the  Federal  government  in  its  efforts  to  con 
quer  the  South,  under  the  belief  that  their  cause  was  a  just 
one,  and  worth  making  sacrifices  for,  had  any  adequate  idea 
of  the  rascality,  in  high  quarters  and  low  quarters,  that  was 
one  of  the  results  of  the  war.  We  read  about  certain  scan 
dalous  doings  in  the  newspapers ;  but,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  worst  rascalities  of  the  period  never  were 
brought  to  light,  it  was  impossible  for  the  good,  patriotic  peo 
ple  who  contributed  their  money  and  goods,  and  who  prayed, 
day  and  night,  for  the  success  of  the  Federal  cause,  to  un 
derstand  the  infamies  that  were  being  practised  around  them, 
as  I,  who  was  in  some  sort  the  confederate  of  the  villains, 
and  who  consequently  was  able  to  study  the  situation  from 
the  inside,  could  not  help  doing. 

Had  these  infamies  been  confined  to  a  comparatively  few 
obscure  men  in  the  large  cities  tliey  would  have  been  bad 
enough,  and  would  have  been  sufficiently  demoralizing  in 
their  influences  to  make  it  a  subject  for  profound  regret  that 
opportunities  for  their  practice  should  have  been  afforded. . 
30 


466  THE   WORST   ROGUES   PROTECTED. 

Bad  as  they  were,  however,  the  substitute-brokers  and  the 
bounty-jumpers  were  not  the  worst  villains  of  the  period. 
Men  high  in  public  station,  and  occupying  offices  of  the  great 
est  responsibility,  were  engaged  in  robbing  the  government 
and  in  swindling  the  public,  to  an  extent  that  was  absolutely 
startling  to  me  when  I  obtained  cognizance  of  their  doings, 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  my  plans,  became  an 
accomplice  in  some  of  their  transactions. 

THIEVES  AND  COUNTERFEITERS  IN  THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT. 

The  treasury  department  itself — where  the  Federal  cur 
rency,  and  the  interest-bearing  bonds,  upon  which  was  raised 
money  to  carry  on  the  contest,  were  manufactured  —  was  the 
headquarters  of  a  gang  of  thieves  and  counterfeiters,  who 
carried  on  their  operations  for  months,  within  my  own  knowl 
edge,  in  a  most  barefaced  manner,  and  who,  when  at  length 
detected  and  brought  to  bay,  were  able,  not  only  to  escape 
punishment,  but  to  retain  their  positions,  and  to  find  apologists 
in  their  official  superiors  and  in  prominent  members  of  Con 
gress. 

I  really  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it  when  I  read  the 
report  of  the  committee  of  Congress,  which  not  only  exoner 
ated  certain  treasury  officials,  whose  misdeeds  were  discovered 
by  Colonel  Baker,  but  which  actually  insinuated  that  the  de 
tective  was  engaged  in  a  conspiracy  against  them.  I  knew 
only  too  well  how  guilty  they  were,  and  I  knew  that  Baker 
had  ample  evidence  against  them,  although  he  was  not  in 
formed  of  a  tithe  of  the  villanies  they  had  committed.  That 
the  secretary  and  the  solicitor  of  the  treasury  should  take 
sides  with  them,  and  that  a  congressional  committee,  composed 
of  statesmen  who  claimed  to  be  honest  and  patriotic,  should, 
in  the  face  of  the  evidences  of  their  guilt  which  were  pro 
duced,  sustain  them,  and  endeavor  to  punish  Baker  for  having 
detected  them,  are  things  that  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to 
understand. 

That  they  were  protected,  and  that  attempts  were  made  to 
punish  Baker,  are,  however,  facts  that  cannot  be  denied ;  and 
certainly,  of  all  the  disgraceful  things  which  occurred  during 
the  war,  this  was  one  of  the  most  disgraceful. 

No  person  has  a  better  right  to  speak  plainly  and  emphat 
ically  on  this  subject  than  myself,  and  no  person  who  reads 
this  narrative  will  suppose  for  a  moment  that  I  am  influenced 


A    REMARKABLE    EPISODE.  467 

by  any  partiality  for  Colonel  Baker  in  making  the  statements 
I  do  with  regard  to  the  matters  at  issue  between  him,  the  offi 
cers  of  the  treasury,  and  the  congressional  committee.  I 
know  that'  the  men  were  guilty  of  the  offences  with  which 
they  were  charged  by  Baker,  for  I  was  one*  of  their  associates, 
although  I  claim  that  the  peculiarity  of  my  position  entitled 
my  conduct  to  be  judged  by  a  very  different  standard  from 
theirs ;  and  during  the  whole  time  that  the  investigation  was 
going  on,  I  was  in  mortal  terror  lest  Baker  should  discover 
that  I  was  implicated. 

WHO  PROTECTED  THE  ROGUES. 

My  opinion  of  Colonel  Baker's  character,  or  of  his  qualifi 
cations  for  .the  position  he  held  as  chief  of  the  United  States 
secret  service  corps,  is  not  the  most  exalted ;  and  I  have  too 
vivid  a  recollection  of  the  fears  I  felt,  and  of  the  trouble  I 
had  in  keeping  out  of  his  way  at  the  period  to  which  I  am 
alluding,  to  have  the  most  amiable  feelings  towards  him.  I 
was  pleased,  for  my  own  sake,  but  I  was  astonished  beyond 
measure,  when  I  learned  that  his  efforts  to  break  up  certain 
practices  in  vogue  in  the  treasury  department  resulted  as 
they  did,  and  came  to  nothing,  in  the  peculiar  manner  that 
they  did.  It  was  almost  incredible  that  Secretary  Chase, 
Solicitor  Jordan,  and  Mr.  Garfield,  and  the  other  members  of 
the  congressional  investigating  committee,  should  have  taken 
the  peculiar  stand  that  they  did  ;  and,  even  at  this  late  day,  I 
am  unable  to  imagine  any  sufficient  reason  for  their  conduct 
that  will  be  at  all  to  their  credit. 

Baker's  raid  on  the  treasury  department  was  a  very  re 
markable  episode,  from  whatever  point  of  view  it  may  be 
regarded ;  and  the  probabilities  are  that,  had  he  been  able  to 
continue  his  investigations,  he  would  have  found  out  some 
things  that  would  have  startled  the  country.  He,  as  it  was, 
found  out  quite  enough  to  prove  that  an  investigation  was 
sadly  needed ;  but  it  must  have  stung  him  to  the  quick  to 
find  himself,  instead  of  being  rewarded  for  his  skill  and  zeal, 
placed  in  the  position  of  a  criminal,  while  the  scamps  whose 
doings  he  exposed  were  protected  by  all  the  power  of  the 
government. 

I  have  stated  that  most  of  those  engaged  in  the  bounty- 
jumping  and  substitute-brokerage  business  were  conscience 
less  Northern  men,  who  were  only  intent  upon  making  money 


468  THE   LICENSE    OF   WARFARE. 

by  every  means,  and  at  all  hazards.  A  number  of  Confed 
erates,  myself  included,  were,  however,  associated  with  them 
in  many  of  their  transactions,  just  as  we  were  associated  with 
some  other  rogues,  for  the  purpose  of  embarrassing  the  Fed 
eral  government,  and  for  the  prosecution  of  the  various 
schemes  we  had  on  hand,  up  to  the  very  hour  of  the  downfall 
of  the  government  to  which  our  adherence  was  given. 

MAKING  THE  FEDERAL  TREASURY  P.AY  CONFEDERATE  EXPENSES. 

To  carry  on  our  operations,  money,  and  a  great  deal  of  it, 
was  needed,  and  we  had  little  or  no  hesitation  in  making  the 
Federal  treasury  pay  our  expenses,  as  far  as  we  were  able  to. 
A  large  portion  of  the  funds  used  in  purchasing  substitutes, 
and  in  carrying  on  the  bounty -jumping  frauds,  was  furnished 
by  Confederate  agents,  who  obtained  a  good  deal  of  their 
cash,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  United  States  treasury. 
How  this  was  done,  it  is  my  purpose  to  explain. 

I  had  little  or  nothkig  to  do  with  the  bounty-jumpers  until 
after  my  return  from  the  West  Indies.  My  relations  with  the 
officials  of  the  treasury  department,  however,  commenced  not 
a  great  while  after  my  arrival  at  the  North,  and  it  was  mainly 
my  transactions  with  them  that  made  me  so  much  afraid  of 
being  discovered  by  Colonel  Baker,  and  so  extremely  anxious 
to  stand  well  in  his  good  graces.  I  am  convinced  that  my 
intimate  relations  with  Baker,  as  one  of  his  employees,  and  the 
confidence  in  me  which  I  succeeded  in  inspiring  in  his  mind, 
alone  saved  me  from  detection  when  he  went  to  work  to  find 
out  what  was  worth  finding  out  in  the  treasury  department. 
Whether,  in  case  he  had  discovered  the  game  I  was  playing, 
and  had  attempted  to  bring  me  to  punishment,  the  secretary, 
the  solicitor,  and  prominent  members  of  Congress  would  have 
rushed  to  my  rescue  with  the  same  alacrity  that  they  did  in 
the  case  of  those  whom  Baker  succeeded  in  laying  his  hands 
on,  is  one  of  those  interesting  questions  that  must  remain  for 
ever  unanswered.  I  am  very  glad,  however,  that,  as  matters 
turned  out,  there  was  no  occasion  for  me  to  appeal  to  them 
for  aid. 

When  I  first  learned  of  the  uses  which  some  of  my  Confed 
erate  friends  were  making  of  the  facilities  of  the  Federal 
treasury  for  obtaining  cash,  I  was  rather  shocked ;  and  it  took 
some  time  ,to  convince  me  that  even  the  license  of  warfare, 
and  the  right  we  had  to  injure  our  adversaries  in  every  man- 


RETALIATION.  469 

ner  possible,  made  such  things  permissible.  When  I  found 
out,  however,  that  not  only  were  counterfeit  Confederate 
bonds  and  notes  freely  manufactured  at  the  North,  without 
any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  government,  but  that  Fed 
eral  officials  actually  made  use  of  this  bogus  Confederate 
paper  whenever  they  found  it  convenient  to  do  so,  I  had  no 
hesitation  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  we  would  be  per 
fectly  justifiable  in  retaliating,  and  that  we  had  the  same  right 
to  raid  on  the  Federal  treasury,  and  to  injure  the  Federal 
credit,  that  the  Federals  had  to  try  and  swamp  our  finances. 

BOGUS  CONFEDERATE  SECURITIES. 

It  was  Colonel  Baker  who  decided  me  to  go  into  this  busi 
ness.  That  individual  always  seemed  to  have  a  plentiful 
amount  of  bogus  Confederate  bills  on  hand,  to  be  used"  on 
occasion.  On  my  Richmond  trip,  as  the  reader  will  recollect, 
he  gave  me  a  considerable  sum  in  this  kind  of  money,  to 
assist  in  paying  my  expenses,  all  of  which  was  just  so  much 
saved  to  the  Federal  government,  —  or,  perhaps,  to  Baker 
individually,  —  for  I  was  travelling  in  the  capacity  of  a  Fed 
eral  secret  service  agent.  On  numerous  similar  occasions 
Baker  found  it  convenient  to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  spies 
within  the  Confederate  lines  with  promises  to  pay,  supposed 
to  have  been  issued  in  Richmond,  but  in  reality  manufactured 
and  given  to  the  world  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  He 
seemed  to  regard  it  *as  quite  a  proper  way  of  fighting  the 
rebels,  to  put  as  many  counterfeit  Confederate  notes  as  pos 
sible  into  circulation ;  and,  when  I  discovered  that  he  was  of 
this  way  of  thinking,  I  was  not  long  in  deciding  that  we  reb 
els  had  a  right  to  make  the  thing  even  by  circulating  as  many 
bogus  United  States  notes  and  bonds  as  we  could,  especially 
as  we  would  serve  the  double  purpose  of  aiding  the  Confed 
erate  and  injuring  the  Federal  government,  and  as,  moreover, 
we  would  be  assisted  by  prominent  Federal  officials. 

Having  made  my  arrangements  with  parties  in  Philadelphia 
and  New  York,  and  having  obtained  the  information  neces 
sary  for  me  to  make  my  initial  movements,  I  went  to  Wash 
ington,  and,  first  of  all,  had  a  talk  with  Colonel  Baker,  giving 
him  some  information  —  re^tl  or  .fictitious,  as  the  case  may 
have  been  —  which  I  thought  would  amuse  him,  and  assist  in 
convincing  him  that  I  was  overflowing  with  zeal  for  the  Fed 
eral  cause.  This  interview  with  Baker  was  in  accordance 


470  A  TREACHEROUS.  TREASURY  CLERK. 

with  a  general  plan  I  had  laid  out,  for,  especially  when  I  had 
any  business  of  real  importance  on  my  hands  when  visiting 
Washington,  I  thought  it  best  to  call  on  him  and  give  an 
account  of  myself,  than  to  have  him  or  his  men  getting  sight 
of  me  unexpectedly,  and  perhaps  wondering  what  I  was  up  to. 

A  CONFEDERATE  SPY  IN  THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT. 

Baker's  vigilance  having  thus  been  disarmed,  I  went  to  a 
clerk  in  the  Treasury  Department,  and  telling  him  briefly 
what  I  wanted,  but  without  giving  him  the  details  of  the 
whole  scheme,  I  asked  him  to  assist  me  in  gaining  access  to 
the  private  rooms  in  the  building  where  none  but  the  officials 
in  charge,  and  the  employees  immediately  under  them,  were 
ever  allowed  to  go,  except  by  written  permits  signed  by  the 
secretary.  These  rooms  were  chiefly  those  of  the  printing 
bureau,  where  the  Federal  bonds  and  currency  were  manu 
factured,  although  I  also  wanted  opportunities  for  visiting 
such  other  portions  of  the  department  as  I  might  think 
expedient. 

This  clerk  was  a  Confederate  sympathizer,  like  a  number 
of  other  Federal  employees  of  various  grades,  and  he  carried 
his  sympathies  so  far  as  that  he  was  willing  and  anxious  to 
aid  the  Confederacy  by  every  means  in  his  power,  so  long  as 
he  could  do  so  with  safety  to  himself.  He  was  not  the  sort 
of  a  man  I  had  much  liking  for;  but  in  the  kind  of  work  I  was 
engaged  in  prosecuting,  it  did  not  do  to  be  too  fastidious 
about  the  characters  of  one's  associates.  Moreover,  he  had 
proved  himself,  during  a  long  period,  to  be  a  very  efficient 
spy,  and  was  constantly  in  communication  with  the  Confeder 
ate  agents,  giving  them  information  which  often  was  of  ex 
treme  importance. 

It  was  probably  through  him  that  my  associates  first 
learned  what  was  going  on  in  the  printing  bureau,  but  of 
this  I  am  not  certain.  At  any  rate,  they  knew  that  he  was 
the  best  person  to  apply  to  for  the  sake  of  getting  such  an 
introduction  to  the  private  rooms  of  the  treasury  building, 
as  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  have,  as  he  was  thoroughly 
posted  with  regard  to  the  villanies  that  were  being  practised 
there. 

In  response  to  my  application  to  this  clerk  for  assistance, 
he  gave  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a  man  occupying  a  very 
high  and  very  responsible  position ;  so  high  and  so  responsi- 


TOW  HAH3&IIA 

AND 


A   HIGH    OFFICIAL.  471 

ble  that  I  was  astonished,  beyond  measure,  on  being  referred 
to  him  on  such  an  errand,  who,  he  said,  would  accomplish  for 
me  what  I  wished.  This  letter  was  so  worded  that  the  party 
to  whom  it  was  addressed  would  understand  that  I  wanted  to 
talk  with  him  about  matters  that  it  would  not  do  for  every 
body  to  be  cognizant  of,  and  I  was  told  that  I  might  speak 
with  the  most  perfect  freedom  to  him  with  regard  to  the  busi 
ness  I  had  in  hand. 

ONE  OP  THE  BIG  VILLAINS. 

I  accordingly  went  to  this  official,  and  presented  the  letter 
of  introduction,  wondering  not  a  little  what  he  would  say  and 
do  when  he  read  it.  His  conduct  satisfied  me  at  once  that 
he  was  implicated  in  unlawful  schemes,  and  that  he  was 
exactly  the  man  for  my  purposes.  When  he  read  the  letter 
he  turned  as  pale  as  a  sheet,  and  then  red,  while  his  hand 
trembled  so  much  that  I  was  afraid  some  of  the  people  in  the 
room  would  notice  it. 

He  read  the  letter  through  two  or  three  times  before  he 
was  able  to  obtain  sufficient  composure  to  trust  himself  to 
speak.  He  finally,  however,  said  a  few  commonplace  things 
to  me,  which  meant  nothing,  and  were  intended  for  the  ears 
of  those  around  us  rather  than  for  mine,  and  then  requested 
me  to  give  him  my  address. 

I  did  this,  and  then,  in  obedience  to  a  hurried  gesture,  took 
my  departure,  without  attempting  to  have  any  further  conver 
sation  just  then,  but  feeling  well  assured  that  I  could  speedily 
be  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  an  exchange  of  views  with 
him. 

That  evening  my  new  acquaintance  called  on  me  at  my 
hotel,  and,  although  we  both  for  a  time  fought  shy  of  the 
main  subject,  I  readily  perceived,  from  the  general  tenor  of 
his  conversation,  that  he  had,  since  my  visit  to  his  office,  been 
making  particular  inquiries  with  regard  to  me.  He  remarked, 
among  other  things,  that  he  had  heard  Colonel  Baker  mention 
my  name  several  times,  and -always  in  highly  commendatory 
terms.  This  was  very  satisfactory  intelligence,  for  it  con 
vinced  me  that  I  really  stood  well  with  the  secret-service  chief, 
as  something  I  could  only  guess  at  from  that  individual's 
manner. 

At  length  he  said  he  thought  he  understood  my  object  in 
making  his  acquaintance,  and,  although  he  was  not  quite  cer- 


472  NO   FRIEND   OF  BAKER'S. 

tain  what  I  wanted,  he  would  endeavor  to  aid  me  by  any 
means  in  his  power. 

I  then  told  him,  plump  and  plain,  that  I  and  my  associates 
had  full  information  with  regard  to  what  was  being  done  in 
certain  of  the  treasury  bureaux,  and  that  we  had  it  in  our 
power  to  set  \he  detectives  to  work  in  such  a  way  that  all 
those  engaged  in  swindling  the  government  would  be  arrested 
and  brought  to  punishment.  Instead  of  doing  anything  of 
this  kind,  however,  we  proposed  to  share  the  profits  of  such 
fraudulent  transactions  as  were  going  on  in  the  treasury 
department.  As  the  agent  and  receivers  of  the  others 
interested,  I  wanted  to  get  possession  of  "one  or  more  of  the 
electrotype  impressions  of  the  bond  and  note  plates,  such  as 
were  used  for  fraudulent  issues  ;  and  I  also  desired  to  obtain 
facilities  for  visiting  the  printing  bureau,  whenever  I  might 
find  it  expedient  to  do  so,  for  the  sake  of  conferring  with  cer 
tain  parties  there,  and  in  order  that  I  might  have  an  eye  gen 
erally  on  what  was  going  on. 

My  friend  saw  that  I  "  had  him,"  to  use  a  slang  phrase 
that  is  very  appropriate  in  such  a  connection  as  this,  for  it 
expresses  the  situation  exactly. 

He  hesitated,  however,  as  well  he  might,  before  yielding  to 
my  request ;  and  after  some  immaterial  talk,  which  expressed 
nothing  but  his  fears,  he  said,  "  Well,  if  I  oblige  you  in  this,  I 
will  place  my  honor  and  my  reputation  in  your  hands.  I  have 
never  yet  stepped  aside  from  the  duties  of  my  office  since  I 
have  been  sworn  in,  and  what  assurances  have  I  that  you  will 
not  betray  me  ?" 

I  knew  exactly  how  much  of  this  to  believe,  and  so  I  said 
to  him,  "  I  don't  care,  sir,  what  you  may  or  may  not  have 
done  before  this.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  that  you  are  the 
proper  person  to  assist  me  in  the  matter  under  discussion,  and 
if  you  do  you  shall  have  your  share  of  the  profits.  You  can 
rely  upon  my  secrecy,  for  I  will  be  implicated  as  well  as  your 
self;  but,  independently  of  that,  I  think  that  my  character  for 
reliability  is  sufficiently^vell  known  for  you  to  have  no  hesita 
tion  in  trusting  me." 

"  Yes,  I  know  your  reputation  for  skill  and  secrecy;  you 
seem  to  have  played  it  finely  with  Baker.  I  am  glad  some 
body  has  managed  to  get  ahead  of  that  fellow,  for  he  has  been 
making  himself  an  infernal  nuisance  about  here." 

This  was  said  with  considerable  bitterness,  and  I  could  not 
help  smiling,  both  at  the  words  and  the  manner ;  for  there  was 


COMING   TO   AN   UNDERSTANDING.  473 

something  absolutely  comical  in  the. idea  of  my  friend  and 
those  in  league  with  him  considering  Baker's  negligence  a 
grievance.  1,  however,  said  nothing  on  that  point,  but  merely 
remarked  that  Baker  appeared  to  be  a  tolerably  capable 
officer. 

My  friend  possibly  did  not  care  to  argue  about  Baker,  for  he 
went  on,  without  noticing  the  remark,  to  say  that  he  would 
have  to  swear  me  to  secrecy. 

I  laughed  at  this,  and  ridiculed  the  idea  of  my  oath  being 
worth  any  more  than  my  word  under  the  circumstances. 

He,  therefore,  abandoned  all  notion  of  attempting  to  bind 
me,  except  by  the  responsibilities  I  would  incur  in  connec 
tion  with  himself  and  the  others  interested,  and  began  to  talk 
business  in  a  straightforward  manner. 

This  suited  me  exactly,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  had 
matters  arranged  to  our  mutual  satisfaction. 

He  agreed  to  furnish  any  capital  that  might  be  needed  to 
commence  operations,  or  to  do  any  preliminary  bribing  that 
was  necessary,  and  was  to  have  a  percentage  of  whatever 
profits  were  made.  As  for  getting  possession  of  a  fraudulent 
plate  or  plates,  I  would  have  to  talk  about  that  to  the  people 
to  whom  he  would  introduce  me  ;  but  he  did  not  doubt,  if  I 
managed  right,  I  could  get  all  that  were  necessary  for  our 
purposes. 

CERTAIN  BUSINESS  SUGGESTIONS. 

There  were  other  things  to  be  done,  however,  besides  print 
ing  bogus  notes  and  bonds  ;  and  he  thought  that  a  thriving 
business  could  be  carried  on  in  the  genuine  articles,  which 
might  be  abstracted  and  returned,  after  being  turned  over  a 
few  times  in  the  market,  so  as  to  yield  a  sufficient  profit  to 
pay  for  the  risk  and  trouble.  The  bogus  bonds,  he  thought, 
could  be  printed  in  Washington,  and  seemed  rather  anxious 
that  they  should  be  ;  but  I  said  that  I  doubted  whether  my 
associates  would  consent  to  that ;  at  any  rate,  I  could  not 
undertake  to  make  definite  arrangements  without  consulting 
them.  The  idea  was  to  float  these  bonds,  as  far  as  possible, 
on  the  European  market ;  and  it  was  thought  that  it  could 
readily  be  done,  as  they  could  be  sold  at  rates  that  would  defy 
competition  on  the  part  of  the  government  agents  who  were 
working  with  the  genuine  articles. 

Having  c"ome  to  an  understanding,  and  arranged  a  general 
plan  of  action,  my  friend  said  that  he  would  give  me  a  note 


474  THE  BRITISHER'S  FAIR  GAME. 

which  would  obtain  for  me  the  freedom  of  the  treasury  build 
ing,  but  that  I  would  have  to  be  exceedingly  careful  of  it,  and 
take  particular  pains  not  to  let  any  one  but  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  addressed  see  it. 

I,  of  course,  made  all  necessary  promises,  and  he,  accord 
ingly,  wrote  a  note,  which  he  signed  with  a  private  mark 
instead  of  with  his  name,  and  told  me  to  call  the  next  day  at 
the  treasury,  and  give  it  to  a  certain  prominent  official  con 
nected  with  the  printing  bureau.  He  then  took  his  leave, 
and  I  had  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  him  afterwards,  his 
share  of  whatever  profits  was  made  being  paid  to  him  by  some 
one  else. 

My  arrangement  with  the  parties  at  whose  instance  I  went 
to  Washington  on  this  business  was,  that  in  event  of  my  being 
able  to  make  a  satisfactory  bargain  with  the  officials  in 
the  treasury  department,  I  was  to  be  the  receiver  and  bearer 
of  whatever  they  might  confide  to  my  care  in  the  way  of 
bonds,  notes,  bogus  plates,  and  other  matters,  and  was  to 
travel  to  and  fro  between  Washington,  Philadelphia,  and 
New  York  as  a  confidential  manager,  while  brokers  in  the 
two  last-named  cities  and  elsewhere  were  to  do  the  finan 
ciering. 

The  scheme  was  an  immense  one,  although  it  did  not  reach 
its  full  proportions  all  at  once ;  and  it  included  not  only  deal 
ing  in  genuine  —  borrowed  for  the  purpose  from  the  treasury 
—  and  bogus  Federal  securities,  but  Confederate  bogus  bonds 
also.  These  bonds  were  to  be,  as  far  as  practicable,  put  upon 
the  English  market,  at  the  best  rates  that  could  be  gotten  for 
them,  and  our — that  is,  the  Confederate  — share  of  the  pro 
ceeds  was  to  go  into  a  general  fund,  to  be  used  for  advancing 
the  interests  of  the  cause.  As  for  the  Britishers,  we  consid 
ered  them  fair  game,  when  selling  them  either  kind  of  bogus 
securities,  for  we  regarded  their  conduct  as-  treacherous  to 
both  parties  in  the  great  contest,  and  thought  that  they 
might  as  well  be  made  to  pay  some  of  the  expenses  of  con 
ducting  it. 

From  first  to  last  the  British  government  had  deluded  the 
people  of  the  Confederacy  with  false  hopes  of  recognition  and 
interference ;  and,  as  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  it 
was  becoming  daily  more  apparent  that  it  did  not  propose  to 
interfere  unless  it  could  do  so  without  risking  anything,  the 
feeling  against  it,  especially  among  the  Confederates  at  the 
North  and  in  Canada,  who  were  constantly  in  correspondence 


A   LIVELY   TRADE   IN   BOGUS   SECURITIES.  475 

with  agents  in  England  and  on  the  continent,  was  getting  to 
be  very  bitter. 

It  was  determined,  therefore,  to  go  for  Johnny  Bull's  pocket, 
and  a  lively  trade  in  bogus  Confederate  and  Federal  securi 
ties  was  started  and  kept  up  for  a  considerable  time,  which, 
among  other  things,  involved  my  making  a  trip  to  London,  at 
a  very  critical  time,  as  the  reader  will  learn  anon. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

COUNTERFEITING    AND    BOGUS    BOND    SPECULATIONS. 

Introduction  to  an  Official  of  the  Printing  Bureau  of  the  Treasury  De 
partment.  —  The  Chief  of  the  Treasury  Ring.  —  I  am  referred  by  him 
to  another  Person  in  the  Bureau,  who  arranges  for  a  private  Interview 
with  me  under  a  Cedar  Tree  in  the  Smithsonian  Grounds.  — The  Influ 
ence  of  certain  Rascals  in  the  Treasury  Department  with  Secretary 
Chase  and  other  high  Officials.  —  The  Scandals  about  the  Women  Em 
ployees  in  the  Department.  —  Baker's  Investigation  baffled.  —  The  Case 
of  Dr.  Gwynn.  —  The  Conference  under  the  Cedar  Tree.  —  A  grand 
Scheme  for  speculating  with  Government  Funds.  —  I  obtain  Possession 
of  an  Electrotype  Fac-Simile  pf  a  One-Hundred  Dollar  Compound  In 
terest  Plate.  —  A  Package  of  Money  left  Tor  me  under  the  Cedar  Tree. 
—  Speculation  in  bogus  Confederate  and  Federal  Notes  and  Bonds.  — 
How  the  Thing  was  managed.  —  Increase  of  illicit  Speculation  as  the 
War  progressed. —  Bankers,  Brokers,  and  other  Men  of  high  Reputa 
tion  implicated  in  it.  —  Counterfeiting,  to  a  practically  unlimited  Extent, 
carried  on  with  the  Aid  of  Electrotypes  furnished  from  the  Treasury 
Department.  —  Advantages  taken  by  the  Confederate  Agent  of  the  gen 
eral  Demoralization. 

HE  day  after  receiving  the  note  to 
which  reference   has   been  made  in 
j   «— ,,  i  L:  the  preceding  chapter,  I  took  it  to 

AlBf/W  \1         '     *ke  Person  in  the  printer's  bureau, 

to  whom  it  was  addressed.  This  in 
dividual  did  not  appear  to  be  the 
least  surprised  to  see  me,  and  it  was 
evident  that  he  had  been  apprised 
of  the  fact  that  I  intended  to  make 
him  a  visit,  and  what  the  visit  would 
be  for. 

He  proceeded  to  business  at  once, 
when  he  had  read  the  note,  by  re 
questing  me  to  call  the  next  day  at 
his  office,  when,  he  said,  the  matter 
would  be  arranged  to  my  satisfaction.  He  was  not  disposed 
to  be  talkative  about  the  situation ;  and,  as  I  found  out  shortly 

476 


THE    HEAD    OF   THE   TREASURY   RING.  477 

afterwards,  certain  persons  under  him  in  the  bureau  were  the 
active  agents  in  the  swindling  transactions  that  were  going 
on,  his  plan  being  to  avoid,  as  far  as  practicable,  any  palpable 
participation  in  them. 

This  man,  however,  was  at  the  head  of  the  ring,  and  was 
responsible  for  all  the  rascalities  that  occurred  in  connection 
with  the  important  bureau  with  which  he  was  connected. 
Without  his  knowledge  and  consent,  the  things  I  am  about  to 
relate  could  never  have  happened.  What  the  nature  of  his 
influence  with  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  and  with  prom 
inent  members  of  Congress  was,  I  cannot  undertake  to  say. 
It  was,  however,  sufficient,  not  only  to  screen  him  from  pun 
ishment,  but  even  to  secure  his  retention  in  office  after  his 
misdeeds  had  been  exposed. 

GROSS  IMMORALITIES  IN  THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT. 

The  abstraction  of  currency  and  bonds  for  speculative  pur 
poses,  and  the  permitting  electrotypes  of  the  plates  used  for 
printing  bonds  and  currency,  to  be  taken  and  disposed  of  to 
outside  parties,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  print 
bogus  issues,  were  not  his  only  offences.  He  and  another 
official,  who  occupied  a  very  prominent  and  responsible  posi 
tion  in  the  treasury  department,  had  several  abandoned  wo 
men  employed  under  them,  at  large  salaries,  and  with  whom 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  carousing  in  their  offices  at  mid 
night.  Indeed,  so  shameless  and  abandoned  were  both  the 
men  and  the  women,  that  their  doings  became  a  public  scan 
dal,  and  did  much  to  bring  about  an  exposure  of  their  official 
misdeeds. 

Before  I  knew  anything  of  these  matters,  Colonel  Baker 
pointed  out  these  women  to  me  as  the  pets  of  these  two  men, 
and  told  me  about  their  introducing  them  into  the  treasury 
building,  and  taking  them  to  the  Canterbury  saloon  in  male 
attire.  This  was  some  time  before  Baker  commenced  the  in 
vestigations  which  created  such  a  sensation  by  revealing  to 
the  public  the  vice  and  corruption  that  ruled  in  the  treasury 
department.  Baker  then  said  he  was  certain  that  villanies 
of  no  ordinary  character  were  going  on,  and  that  he  proposed 
some  day  to  try  and  find  out  what  they  were. 

The  fact  that  Baker  had  his  eye  on  these  officials,  and  others 
whom  I  knew  were  guilty  of  transactions,  that,  if  the  laws 
were  properly  administered,  would  consign  them  to  the  pen- 


478  THE   ARREST   OF   DR.    GWYNN. 

itentiary,  induced  me  to  conclude  that  I  had  best  have  noth 
ing  to  do  with  them ;  and,  accordingly,  I  severed  my  business 
relations  with  the  printing  bureau,  after  giving  those  interested 
a  hint  to  beware  of  the  colonel. 

This  hint  was  disregarded,  for  the  reason  that  the  scamps 
knew  that  he  could  not  commence  an  investigation  into  the 
affairs  of  the  treasury  department  without  the  consent  of 
Secretary  Chase,  and  this  consent,  for  reasons  which  to  them 
were  good  and  sufficient,  they  did  not  believe  would  ever  be 
given. 

BAKER  REQUESTED  BY  MR.  CHASE  TO  COMMENCE  AN 
INVESTIGATION. 

It  so  happened,  however,  that  Mr.  Chase,  of  his  own  motion, 
called  Baker  in  to  assist  him  in  discovering  some  suspected 
wrong-doing  in  the  department,  and  that  individual,  having 
then  obtained  the  requisite  authority,  immediately  went  to 
work  with  even  more  than  his  accustomed  zeal  to  find  out 
what  was  wrong  in  the  printing  bureau. 

Baker,  however,  was  either  somewhat  obtuse,  or  else  the 
person  to  whom  I  have  alluded  as  at  the  head  of  the  ring,  and 
his  confederates,  were  successful  in  getting  him  on  the  wrong 
track,  for  the  first  man  he  laid  his  hands  on  was  Dr.  Stewart 
Gwynn.  This  old  gentleman  was  an  eccentric  inventor,  who 
had  a  lot  of  queer,  original  ideas  about  proper  methods  of 
printing  the  currency  and  bonds.  Mr.  Chase  believed  that  he 
was  a  great  genius,  and  it  is  possible  he  may  have  been.  I 
regarded  him,  however,  as  a  mere  catspaw  for  the  others,  and 
have  never  thought  that  he  was  guilty  of  any  intentional 
wrong  doing. 

Dr.  Gwynn  was  arrested  by  Baker,  and  was  lodged  for  a 
number  of  months  in  the  old  capitol  prison.  Nothing  criminal, 
however,  was  proved  against  him,  although  it  was  shown  very 
conclusively  that  some  of  his  schemes  were  not  very  profit 
able  to  the  government.  Much  sympathy  was  felt  for  this  old 
man ;  and  I,  among  others,  went  to  Mr.  Chase  to  beg  for  his 
release. 

I  had  quite  a  long  talk  with  Mr.  Chase  on  this  occasion,  and 
he  was  very  emphatic  in  stating  that  the  method  in  vogue  in 
the  treasury  department  for  printing  notes  and  bonds  was  an 
effectual  check  on  counterfeiting.  I,  of  course,  knew  very 
well  what  a  serious  delusion  he  was  laboring  under,  and  it 


BAKER   BLUFFED   OFF.  479 

would  have  given  me  great  pleasure  to  have  undeceived  him, 
could  I  have  done  so  with  safety  to  myself  and  those  with 
whom  I  was  associated. 

Having  captured  Dr.  Gwynn,  Baker  next  made  an  expose* 
of  the  conduct  of  the  other  treasury  official  whom  I  have 
mentioned,  and  certain  female  employees  of  the  department, 
but  he  did  not  get  at  the  facts  with  regard  to  the  bogus  plates, 
and  other  matters  of  equal  importance,  until  a  considerable 
time  after.  Indeed,  I  am  not  sure  that  it  was  his  investiga 
tion  that  brought  the  worst  practices  of  the  printing  bureau 
to  light,  but  think  that  some  one  else  had  a  hand  in  making 
that  revelation. 

BAKER  DISGUSTED. 

It  is  probable  that  the  manner  in  which  he  was  treated  by 
those  who  should  have  supported  him,  after  proving  how  the 
two  men  mentioned  were  conducting  themselves  with  the 
female  employees,  may  have  disgusted  him  with  the  whole 
business,  and  discouraged  him  from  prosecuting  his  investi 
gations  any  further.  The  expos6  with  regard  to  the  women 
created  a  great  excitement  when  it  got  into  the  newspapers  ; 
but  the  implicated  treasury  officials  had  sufficient  influence  to 
brave  public  opinion,  and  to  retain  their  positions  in  spite  of 
the  clamor  for  their  removal  that  was  raised.  Indeed,  so  great 
was  the  prejudice  against  Colonel  Baker,  in  certain  quarters, 
that,  I  have  no  doubt,  many  very  good  people  actually  believed 
the  parties  accused  by  him  were  innocent,  and  were  the  vic 
tims  of  a  conspiracy. 

Besides  this,  the  public  attention  at  that  period  was  tolera 
bly  well  occupied  with  war  matters ;  and  Baker,  having  been 
bluffed  off,  the  scandal  was  forgotten  in  a  short  time.  Baker, 
however,  was  very  sore  over  the  treatment  he  received  from 
Mr.  Chase,  Mr.  Jordan,  Mr.  Garfield,  and  others;  and  was 
especially  indignant  that  the  rogues -who  were  robbing  the 
people  should  not  only  be  permitted  to  go  unpunished,  but 
should  be  actually  protected  in  their  villanies  by  their  official 
superiors. 

With  these  matters,  however,  I  had  nothing  to  do,  having 
discontinued  my  operations  in  connection  with  the  treasury 
before  Colonel  Baker  commenced  to  examine  into  the  gross 
mismanagement  of  affairs  in  that  important  department. 

In  accordance  with  my  agreement  with  the  printing  bureau 
official,  I  called  at  his  office  at  the  appointed  hour,  and  was 


480  PUNCTUALITY  THE   ROAD   TO   WEALTH. 

referred  by  him  to  one  of  his  subordinates.  With  this  man  I 
made  an  arrangement  for  a  conference  under  a  certain  cedar 
tree  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  grounds, 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

This  man  and  his  father  were  printers  in  the  bureau,  and 
were  confederates  in  the  dishonest  practices  that  were  going 
on,  by  which  the  government  was  defrauded  of  immense  sums, 
and  by  which  immense  quantities  of  bogus  notes  and  bonds 
were  foisted  on  the  public.  One  of  these  men  had  a  mistress, 
who  was  employed  to  do  some  work  about  the  printing  presses. 
This  woman  conveyed  the  electrotype  duplicates  of  the  plates 
to  parties  outside,  and  performed  other  services  of  a  similar 
character,  for  which  she  was  paid  handsomely. 

A  SECRET  CONFERENCE  UNDER  A  CEDAR  TREE. 

Some  time  before  the  appointed  hour  I  strolled  into  the 
grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  after  finding  the 
cedar  tree,  hid  myself  in  some  bushes  near  by,  not  being  at 
all  certain  that  some  trick  would  not  be  played  upon  me  ;  for 
it  occurred  to  me  that  perhaps  these  people  might  not  fancy 
my  having  anything  to  do  with  the  matters  we  were  negotiat 
ing  about,  and  would  take  a  notion  to  have  me  put  out  of  the 
way  in  some  manner. 

My  apprehensions,  however,  were  groundless,  for  I  had 
approached  them  in  such  a  manner  that  they  were  compelled 
to  trust  me,  whether  they  wanted  to  or  not ;  and  their  only 
idea  was,  with  the  assistance  of  myself  and  associates,  to  make 
the  grandest  haul  on  the  treasury  that  had  ever  yet  been  at 
tempted. 

Ere  a  great  while  I  heard  footsteps  approaching,  and  pres 
ently  some  one  coughed  in  a  significant  manner,  which  I  inter 
preted  as  a  .signal  for  me.  I  accordingly  looked  out  from  my 
hiding-place,  and  saw  the  man  I  was  expecting.  Having  as 
sured  myself  that  he  was  alone,  I  went  up  to  him,  and  said, 
"  Good  evening." 

"  You  are  here,  are  you  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Yes,  I  am  always  punctual  on  business  ;  punctuality  is  the 
road  to  wealth." 

We  then  sat  down  together  on  the  grass  to  arrange  our 
plans. 

The  scheme  I  had  to  propose  was  quite  a  modest  one,  all 
things  taken  into  consideration.  It  was,  that  I,  as  receiver 


THE    BIGGEST   THING   YET.  481 

and  bearer  for  certain  other  parties,  should  be  given  electro 
type  duplicates  of  bond  and  currency  plates,  such  as  we  had 
information  were  manufactured  by  certain  parties  in  the  treas 
ury  department.  For  them  we  would  either  pay  so  much,  or 
would  share  the  profits. 

My  new  acquaintance,  however,  was  in  favor  of  going  into 
business  on  quite  a  grand  scale.  He  suggested,  in  rather  in 
definite  terms,  that  he  had  a  scheme  for  bleeding  the  treasury, 
which  would,  if  proper  management  was  used,  be  an  even 
more  expeditious  and  safer  method  of  making  money  than  by 
issuing  bogus  paper ;  but  he  seemed  to  be  a  little  hesitating 
about  confiding  all  the  details  to  me. 

I  therefore  said,  after  we  had  talked  for  some  time  without 
coming  to  any  conclusion,  "  Well,  sir,  what  are  your  plans  ?  I 
have  no  notion  of  rendering  myself  liable  to  imprisonment  for 
the  plans  of  another  person,  unless  I  know  all  about  them,  and 
understand  exactly  what  risks  I  run,  and  what  I  am  likely  to 
gain.  If  it  were  not  for  the  sake  of  a  great  object  I  have  in 
view,  I  would  not  engage  in  this  business  on  any  terms,  and 
would  not  risk  my  life  and  reputation  as  I  am  and  have  been 
doing." 

"What  is  your  object?" 

"  That  is  a  personal  secret,  and  it  has  nothing  to  do 
with  any  one  individual." 

A  WAY  TO  GET  RICH. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  this  plan  of  mine  is  the  biggest  thing- 
that  has  ever  been  tried  on  yet,  and  I  am  certain  we  can  man 
age  it,  if  we  only  go  to  work  in  the  right  way.  I  have  facil 
ities  for  carrying  on  an  affair  of  this  kind  such  as  are  possessed 
by  no  other  man  in  Washington  ;  I  know  all  the  men  in  every 
department,  and  know  exactly  who  can  and  who  cannot  be 
trusted.  I  am  acquainted  with  every  private  entrance  to  the 
public  buildings  in  this  city,  and  am  familiar  with  a  great  part 
of  the  rascality  that  is  going  011  every  day  and  every  night." 

"  If  that  is  so,  you  certainly  have  advantages,  and  if  your 
scheme  is  a  practicable  one,  I  will  take  it  into  consideration." 

He  then  went  on  to  tell  me  how  he  proposed  using  govern 
ment  money  and  bonds,  which  were  to  be  taken  from  the 
treasury  for  certain  speculative  purposes,  and  also-  for  float 
ing  bogus  bonds,  both  Federal  and  Confederate,  upon  the 
English  market.  He  was  to  manage  the  matter  in  the 
31 


482  A   BUSINESS   ARRANGEMENT. 

treasury  department,  I  was  to  act  as  go-between,  and  certain 
brokers  and  others  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  were  to 
attend  to  the  outside  business. 

When  he  had  fully  explained  himself,  I  said,  "  I  am  almost 
afraid  to  undertake  such  an  enterprise.  It  will  be  no  small 
matter  to  carry  on  such  operations  as  you  propose  without  de 
tection.  Don't  you  think  you  are  trying  to  do  too  much  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  we  will  be  operating  on  a  rather  large  scale, 
but  if  we  go  about  the  matter  in  the  right  way  there  need  be 
no  serious  danger.  We  can  begin  on  a  moderate  basis,  and 
extend  our  business  as  we  go  on,  replacing  the  borrowed 
money  in  the  treasury  as  it  comes  back  to  us.  I  and  my  two 
friends  will  be  -responsible  for  procuring  the  capital,  if  you 
will  consent  to  be  the  bearer  between  here  and  Philadelphia 
and  New  York." 

"  0,  sir,  you  must  not  let  me  be  known  to  any  third  party 
in  an  affair  of  this  kind.  If  you  will  deliver  to  me  the  money 
in  person,  or  cause  it  to  be  placed  where  I  can  get  it  without 
danger  of  being  detected,  I  will  undertake  the  job." 

"  Well,  that  is  all  right.  I  will  arrange  everything  for  you, 
so  that  you  will  be  in  no  danger.  I  want  this  to  bring  in  some 
thing  handsome,  for  I  am  anxious  to  get  out  of  Washington, 
and  so  soon  as  I  can  make  enough  money  I  intend  to  go  South. 
My  feelings  have  always  been  with  the  Southern  people ;  and 
I  consider  that  they  have  been  the  victims  of  unnumbered 
outrages." 

"  Why,  ain't  you  afraid  to  talk  in  that  manner,  you  a  gov 
ernment  employee  ?  Don't  you  know  that  I  am  for  the 
Union?" 

"  So  am  I,"  said  he ;  "  but,  for  all  I  can  make  out,  the  Union 
is  a  great  big  hobby-horse  for  speculations,  and  as  other 
people  are  making  money  out  of  it,  I  don't  see  why  I  might 
not." 

AN  ELECTROTYPE  PLATE  BARGAINED  FOR. 

I  then  returned  to  what  had  been  my  chief  object  in  meet 
ing  him,  by  telling  him  that  I  wanted  one  of  those  electro 
type  plates.  He  seemed  to  be  rather  disinclined  to  accom 
modate  me  in  this  matter  at  first ;  but  as  I  was  persistent,  he 
finally  consented,  and  we  parted,  with  the  understanding  that 
we  were  not  to  meet  again  until  I  was  ready  to  report  the 
result  of  our  operations,  and  hand  him  his  share  of  the 
profits. 


FINANCIAL    OPERATIONS.  483 

The  next  day  a  plate  was  delivered  to  me  at  the  Kirkwood 
House,  which  I  immediately  put  under  lock  and  key  in  my 
trunk.  Subsequently  I  received  a  note,  informing  me  that  I 
would  find  a  package  under  the  cedar  tree  in  the  Smithsonian 
grounds,  and  that  I  had  better  go  and  get  it  as  soon  after  dark 
as  possible,  for  fear  some  of  the  workmen  might  pick  it  up. 

The  package,  which,  on  examination,  was  found  to  contain 
fifty-five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  government  paper,  was 
waiting  for  me,  covered  with  loose  leaves  to  screen  it  from 
any  casual  passer-by,  when  1  visited  the  designated  spot. 

Securing  my  booty,  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  rang  the  bell 
for  my  bill,  and  started  for  Philadelphia  with  all  possible 
expedition. 

The  plate  which  I  had  in  my  trunk  was  for  one  hundred 
dollars'  compound  interest  notes.  Not  very  long  after,  I  and 
my  associates  obtained  another  one  for  printing  fractional 
currency. 

On  reaching  Philadelphia,  I  commenced  operations  imme 
diately  in  connection  with  certain  brokers  and  others,  and 
bought  a  large  amount  of  bogus  Confederate  bonds.  Having 
obtained  these,  I  went  to  New  York,  where  I  took  rooms  in  a 
private  house  on  Greenwich  Street,  deeming  a  hotel  rather 
too  conspicuous;  and  communicating  with  my  associates  there, 
we  went  to  work  with  energy  to  turn  the  money  belonging  to 
Uncle  Sam,  in  our  possession,  over  and  over  as  rapidly  as  we 
could,  making  it  pay  us  a  handsome  profit  at  each  turn. 

A  LIVELY  TRADE  IN  BOGUS  SECURITIES. 

Some  of  this  cash  was  put  into  the  bounty  and  substitute 
brokerage  business,  but  a  large  part  of  it  was  invested  in 
bogus  Confederate  and  other  securities,  which  were  sold  to 
brokers  for  the  English  market.  One  private  banker  took 
sixty-two  thousand  dollars'  worth,  and  another  twenty-one 
thousand  dollars'  worth,  while  smaller  amounts  were  scattered 
about  in  various  directions,  we  receiving  English  exchange 
and  gold  at  market  rates,  which  we  turned  into  greenbacks. 

This  business  finally  grew  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  was 
found  to  be  convenient  to  communicate  with  London  direct. 
Correspondence  was  therefore  established  with  a  banking- 
house  on  Regent  Street,  and  until  the  close  of  the  war  a  lively 
traffic  in  real  and  bogus  Federal  and  Confederate  securities 
was  maintained. 


484  THE   TREASURY  INVESTIGATION. 

After  we  had  been  operating  six  days  with  the  money 
obtained  from  the  treasury,  I  telegraphed  to  my  confederate 
in  Washington,  stating  how  much  had  already  been  made,  and 
asking  whether  I  should  keep  on.  The  reply  was,  to  give 
myself  plenty  of  time,  and  to  keep  the  thing  going  for  ten 
days  longer,  and  then  close  out,  and  return  to  Washington 
in  time  for  the  monthly  reports  to  be  made  out.  At  the 
end  of  the  ten  days  there  was  but  five  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  Confederate  bonds  remaining  on  our  hands  undis 
posed  of. 

I  posted  to  Washington,  and  having  notified  my  confed 
erate  there  when  he  might  expect  me,  he  met  me  in  the  Cap 
itol  grounds,  and  I  gave  him  a  statement  of  the  account 
between  us  as  it  then  stood,  turning  over  to  him  the  borrowed 
money,  and  half  of  the  profits  of  the  speculations  that  had  been 
carried  on  with  it.  He  informed  me  that  I  was  just  in  the 
nick  of  time,  as  the  reports  had  not  yet  been  made  out,  but 
they  were  about  being,  and  he  was  beginning  to  get  the  least 
bit  uneasy  concerning  me. 

I  continued  to  take  an  active  part  in  such  transactions  as 
these  for  several  months,  travelling  to  and  fro  between  Wash 
ington,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  and  often  having  about 
me  immense  sums  of  money.  At  length,  however,  I  became 
afraid  to  risk  it  any  longer,  as  Colonel  Baker  had  commenced 
his  investigations  in  the  treasury  department,  and  accordingly 
went  out  of  the  business  of  money-making  for  the  time  being. 
I  did  the  fair  thing  by  the  treasury  people  in  giving  them  a 
hint  with  regard  to  Baker,  and  then  made  haste  to  get  out  of 
the  way  until  the  storm  should  blow  over. 

As  things  turned  out,  it  was  not,  by  any  means,  as  much  of 
a  storm  as  I  expected  it  to  be.  Baker  failed  to  strike  the 
right  trail,  and  the  revelations  which  he  made,  while  suffi 
ciently  scandalous,  were  with  regard  to  matters  of  very  sec 
ondary  importance,  and  he  dallied  so  much  with  these  that 
the  scamps  were  able  to  get  ready  for  him. 

This  treasury  investigation  did  not  do  very  much  credit  to 
anybody  concerned  in  it.  Baker  blundered  badly,  and  failed 
to  get  the  main  facts,  which  he  could  and  should  have  gotten. 
He,  however,  succeeded  in  proving  in  a  most  positive  manner 
that  the  moral  characters  of  certain  prominent  officials  were 
about  as  bad  as  they  could  be,  and  that  they  were  in  every 
way  improper  persons  to  hold  the  important  positions  they 
did.  Despite  the  disgraceful  disclosures  that  were  made 


THE   EOGUES   PROTECTED.  485 

with  regard  to  them,  however,  these  men  were  able  to  secure 
the  support  of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  brought 
them  to  punishment,  and  they  were  retained  in  office  in  spite 
of  Baker,  and  in  defiance  of  public  opinion. 

WHAT  MIGHT  HAVE  HAPPENED. 

Now,  suppose  that  Mr.  Chase,  and  Mr.  Jordan,  and  Mr. 
Garfield,  and  the  others  who  shielded  the  guilty  parties,  and 
who  endeavored  to  represent  Baker  as  a  conspirator,  had,  by 
any  meaas,  found  out  who  I  was,  and  what  I  had  been  doing 
in  connection  with  the  treasury?  What  a  perfect  godsend 
a  discovery  of  my  transactions  would  have  been  !  The  whole 
party  would  have  turned  upon  the  rebel  secret-service  agent 
with  a  ferocity  that  would  have  been  intensified  by  the  fact  of 
her  being  a  woman  ;  and  any  amount  of  patriotic  indignation 
would  have  been  poured  upon  my  head.  Hanging,  in  the 
opinion  of  these  honorable  gentlemen,  would  have  been  too 
good  for  me  ;  and  there  is  no  knowing  how  many  votes  they 
would  have  gained  by  denouncing  me  as  a  fiend  in  human 
shape.  The  fact  that  I  was  a  Confederate  secret-service  agent, 
and  was  doing  what  I  did  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
cause  to  which  my  allegiance  was  given,  would  only  have 
made  matters  ten  times  worse  for  me  had  my  performances 
been  found  out. 

Luckily,  however,  I  was  smart  enough  to  take  proper  pre 
cautions  before  putting  myself  in  danger,  and  when  I  clearly 
saw  trouble  ahead  quietly  got  out  of  the  way.  It  was  not 
the  woman  who  was  working  for  the  Confederacy,  and  who 
was  under  obligations  to  do  those  whom  she  regarded  as  her 
enemies  and  the  enemies  of  her  cause  all  the  injury  in  her 
power,  who  fell  into  Baker's  hands,  but  certain  high  Federal 
officials,  who  were  under  oath,  and  who  were  intrusted  with 
some  of  the  most  responsible  duties  that  could  possibly  be 
intrusted  to  any  men.  These  people  were  under  obligations 
of  fidelity  to  the  trusts  confided  to  them,which  they  could  not 
thrust  aside  without  making  themselves  morally  and  legally 
liable  to  the  severest  condemnation.  In  spite  of  this,  how 
ever,  and  in  spite  of  the  facts  that  they  were  guilty  of  trans 
actions  which  deserved  punishment,  and  that  ample  proofs 
of  their  unfitness  for  the  positions  they  held  were  produced, 
they  found  ardent  and  efficient  supporters  in  men  of  the  high 
est  stations,  who,  day  after  day  were  denouncing  the  rebel- 


486  AS   GOOD   AS   THE   GENUINE. 

lion  as  the  sum  of  all  villanies,  and  who  aimed  at  making  the 
public  believe  that  the)7  were  the  most  patriotic  of  citizens. 

The  why  and  wherefore  of  all  this  I  do  not  pretend  to 
understand,  and  can  only  congratulate  myself  on  the  fact  that 
I  was  lucky  enough  to  avoid  being  made  a  scapegoat  of.  I 
well  knew  the  risks  I  incurred  when  I  consented  to  become 
a  party  to  the  transactions  I  have  recorded  ;  but,  had  I  been 
captured  and  made  to  suffer,  while  my  confederates  were 
enjoying  the  protection  of  some  of  the  chief  officers  of  the 
government,  I  would  scarcely  have  thought  that  justice  was 
being  administered  with  exactly  an  even  hand.  As,  however, 
I  was  not  captured,  I  presume  that  I  have  no  cause  to  com 
plain  because  other  people  were  not  punished  as  they  should 
have  been ;  only,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  a  queer  way  of  man 
aging  the  treasury  department  of  a  great  nation  to  permit 
such  men  as  those  I  have  referred  to  to  hold  the  positions 
they  did,  in  the  face  of  such  facts  as  were  brought  to  light 
concerning  them,  and  -to  treat  the  detective  officers  who 
expose  their  misdeeds  as  the  really  guilty  party. 

COUNTERFEITING  GOVERNMENT  SECURITIES. 

In  the  matter  of  notes  and  bonds  printed  from  the  duplicate 
plates  obtained  from  the  treasury,  an  immense  business  was 
done  both  in  this  country  and  in  England.  The  person  to 
whom  I  gave  the  first  plate  delivered  to  me  printed  eighty- 
five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  one  hundred  dollar  compound 
interest  notes  from  it.  These  were,  so  far  as  appearances 
were  concerned,  just  as  good  as  the  genuine  ones  issued  from 
the  treasury  department.  Of  this  batch,  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars'  worth  were  sent  to  England,  and  we  received  ex 
change  for  them.  The  rest  were  disposed  of  to  the  banks,  and 
through  various  channels. 

The  bankers  and  brokers,  both  here  and  in  England,  took 
these  bogus  notes  and  bonds  without  any  hesitation  whatever, 
as  indeed  there  was  every  reason  they  should  •  for  there  was 
nothing  to  distinguish  them  from  the  genuine  ones  that  could 
avail  for  their  detection  by  ordinary  purchasers. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  give  any  idea  of  the  enormous 
amount  of  this  kind  of  counterfeiting  that  was  done  without 
apparently  any  serious  effort  being  made  on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  government  to  check  it.  I  and  my  associates  had  the 
handling  of  bogus  paper  representing  immense  sums,  which 


GENERAL   DEMORALIZATION.  487 

we  disposed  of  advantageously  ;  but  the  amounts  that  passed 
through  our  hands  only  represented  a  very  small  propor 
tion  of  what  was  issued  during  the  war. 

The  headquarters  of  the  dealers  in  bogus  currency  and  secu 
rities  were  chiefly  in  Wall  and  Fulton  Streets,  although  a 
number  of  these  swindlers  were  located  on  Broadway.  With 
each  succeeding  month,  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  the 
spirit  of  speculation  seemed  to  increase,  and  men  became  more 
and  more  eager  to  make  money,  and  less  particular  how  they 
made  it.  It  was  not  always  obscure  men  and  insignificant 
banking  concerns  that  were  wittingly  engaged  in  this  traffic 
in  unlawful  paper,  but  there  were  plenty  who  stood  high  in  the 
esteem  of  the  public,  and  whose  reputations  for  probity  were 
supposed  to  be  unimpeachable. 

As  for  myself  and  other  Confederates,  we  took  all  the 
advantage  we  could  of  the  general  demoralization,  and  not 
only  replenished  our  treasury,  so  as  to  be  able  to  carry  on 
many  operations  that  otherwise  would  have  been  impossible, 
but  worked  in  many  ways  to  turn  the  criminal  selfishness  and 
unpatriotic  greed  of  people,  with  whom  we  were  brought  in 
contact,  to  account,  for  the  benefit  of  our  cause. 


CHAPTER  XLIL 
BOUNTY- JUMPING. 

The  Bounty-jumping  and  Substitute-brokerage  Frauds,  and  their  Origin.  — 
New  York  the  Headquarters  of  the  Bounty  and  Substitute-Brokers.  — 
Prominent  military  Officers  and  Civilians  implicated  in  the  Frauds. 

—  How  newly-enlisted  Men  managed  to  escape  from  Governor's  Island. 

—  Castle  Garden  the  great  Resort  of  substitute  Brokers.  —  How  the 
poor  Foreigners  were  entrapped  by  lying  Promises  made  to  them.  —  How 
these  Frauds  could  have  been  prevented  by  an  impartial  Conscription 
Law  impartially  administered.  —  Colonel  Baker  arrives  in  New  York  for 
the  Purpose  of  commencing  an  Investigation.  —  He  asks  me  to  assist 
him,  which  I  consent  to  do  after  warning  my  Associates.  —  How  Baker 
went  to  work.  —  Striking  up  an  Acquaintance  with  Jim   Fisk.  —  Fisk 
gives  me  Money  for  a  charitable  Object,  and  Railroad  Passes  for  poor 
Soldiers.  —  An  Oil  Stock  Speculation. 

HE  bounty -jumping  and   substitute -brokerage 
frauds  arose  out  of  a  contest  between  the  ef 
forts  of  the  Federal  government  to  maintain 
the   armies   in   the   field   at   their   maximum 
strength,  and  the  determination  of  nearly  the 
entire  body  of  male  citizens  to  escape  military  duty  by 
any  means  in  their  power. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  conscription  law,  persons 
drafted  were  permitted  to  furnish  substitutes,  if  they 
could  get  them,  and  consequently  the  purchasing  of  sub 
stitutes  became  an  important  branch  of  industry,  in  which 
many  thousands  of  dollars  capital  were  invested,  and  in  which 
immense  sums  of  money  were  made.  This  traffic  in  human 
flesh  and  blood  would  have  been  bad  enough  had  it  been  hon 
estly  conducted,  but,  from  its  very  nature,  it  held  out  induce 
ments  for  fraudulent  practices  which  were  irresistible  to  a 
majority  of  those  engaged  in  it. 

Anything  like  volunteering,  in  a  proper  sense  of  the  word, 
had  ceased  long  before  my  arrival  at  the  North,  but  each  lo 
cality  being  anxious  to  avoid  the  conscription,  made  desperate 
efforts  to  fill  its  quota  of  men  by  offering  bounties,  greater  or 
less  in  amount,  to  encourage  enlistments.  The  payment  of 

488 


STUPENDOUS   FRAUDS.  489 

these  bounties  was  a  direct  encouragement  to  desertion  ;  and, 
as  a  very  different  class  of  men  were  tempted  by  them  from 
those  who  had  enlisted,  out  of  patriotic  motives,  at  the  out 
break  of  the  war,  a  vast  number  of  those  who  pocketed  these 
premiums  were  very  willing  to  go  through  with  the  same  op 
eration  again,  and  as  often  as  it  was  practicable  to  do  so. 

Bounty-jumping,  or  escaping  from  the  recruiting  officers, 
and  enlisting  over  again,  was  carried  on,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  all  over  the  country,  but  the  headquarters  of  the 
bounty -jumpers  and  substitute-brokers  was  in  New  York. 

THE  PURCHASE  OF.  ENLISTMENT  PAPERS. 

It  was  to  New  York  that  the  agents  of  interior  counties 
came  for  the  purpose  of  filling  their  quotas,  and  they  always 
found  a  horde  of  brokers  ready  to  accommodate  them  with 
real  and  bogus  enlistment  papers,  each  one  of  which  was  sup 
posed  to  represent  an  able-bodied  man,  fit  for  military  duty, 
who  had  passed  the  mustering  officers,  been  accepted,  and  was 
then  ready  for  service.  Whether  the  papers  were  bogus  or 
genuine  mattered  very  little  to  those  who  purchased,  so  long 
as  they  could  obtain  credit  on  them  from  the  authorities  at 
Washington.  It  would  probably  not  be  making  too  large  an 
estimate  to  put  down  one  half  of  the  enlistment  papers  sold 
to  country  agents  and  others  as  forgeries,  while  not  one 
half  of  the  genuine  ones,  no,  not  one  fourth,  represented  men 
actually  ready  for  duty. 

Of  course  such  stupendous  frauds  as  these  could  not  have 
been  carried  on  without  the  criminal  connivance  of  the  officials 
of  various  kinds,  who  were,  in  one  way  or  another,  connected 
with  the  enlistments.  There  may  have  been  some  honest  offi 
cers,  soldiers,  and  civilians  connected  with  this  service  in  New 
York  during  the  last  year  of  the  war,  but  I  was  never  lucky 
enough  to  meet  any.  So  far  as  I  could  see,  the  whole  of  them, 
—  commissioned  officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  surgeons, 
clerks,  notaries  public,  and  others,  were  intent  only  upon  mak 
ing  all  the  money  they  could  while  the  opportunity  for  making 
it  lasted. 

The  bounty-jumping  and  substituting-frauds  were  perpe 
trated  in  such  an  open  and  barefaced  manner  that  I  could 
not  help  wondering  why  some  efforts  were  not  made  by  the 
authorities  at  Washington  to  check  them.  At  length,  however, 
the  services  of  Colonel  Baker  were  called  in,  and  he  succeeded 


490  THE  ESCAPE  OF  RECRUITS. 

in  creating  quite  a  panic  among  the  swindlers  by  the  investi 
gations  which  he  instituted,  and  the  large  number  of  the  arrests 
he  made.  The  war,  however,  came  to  an  end  before  he  suc 
ceeded  in  discovering  a  hundredth  part  of  the  rascalities  that 
were  going  on,  so  that,  practically,  his  investigations  were  of 
very  little  benefit  to  the  government. 

The  rates  which  were  paid  for  substitutes  varied  from  five 
hundred  to  twenty-one  hundred  dollars.  The  parties  with 
whom  I  was  associated  enlisted  chiefly  for  the  army,  and  did 
very  little  for  the  navy.  The  bulk  of  our  profits,  so  fast  as 
they  were  made,  went  to  Canada  or  England,  and  some  of  the 
parties  who  received  the  money  are  to-day  living  in  luxury 
on  it. 

How  THE  RECRUITS  ESCAPED. 

The  recruits,  when  they  were  enlisted,  and  when  they 
did  not  escape  from  the  recruiting  stations,  —  as  hundreds  of 
them  did  every  day,  —  were  sent  to  Governor's  Island.  It 
might  be  supposed  that  once  there,  they  would  have  been 
safe.  They  would  have  been,  had  the  officers,  commissioned 
and  non-commissioned,  been  honest.  The  temptations  for 
gain,  however,  were  too  great,  and  there  was  not  a  person 
in  authority  on  the  island  who  was  not  pocketing  hundreds  of 
dollars  every  week  by  conniving  at  the  escape  of  recruits.  I 
have  known  some  of  the  regular  professionals  jump  as  high  as 
sixteen  bounties,  walking  away  from  Governor's  Island  every 
time  they  were  sent  there  with  as  much  ease  as  if  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  army  regulations  and  martial  law  in  existence. 

The  way  this  was  managed  was  by  the  purchase  of  passes. 
In  going  through  the  boat-house,  a  slip  of  paper,  with  the  num 
ber  of  passes  on  it,  would  be  put  in  a  book  on  the  table,  and  on 
returning,  the  passes  would  be  found  in  the  same  book.  The 
money  for  these  could  either  be  folded  in  the  slip,  or  an  order 
on  the  broker's  office  be  given  to  the  sergeant. 

One  application  for  a  substitute  that  was  made  at  the  office 
with  which  I  was  connected,  was  from  a  very  prominent  and 
very  wealthy  gentleman  of  New  York,  who  was  willing  to  pay 
as  high  as  twenty-one  hundred  dollars  for  some  one  to  take 
the  place  of  his  son,  who  had  been  drafted.  This  old  gentle 
man  was  noted  for  his  advocacy  of  the  war,  and  for  his  bitter 
ness  in  denouncing  the  South,  and  yet,  when  it  came  to  letting 
his  son  go  and  do  some  of  the  fighting,  his  patriotism  tapered 
down  to  a  very  fine  point,  and  he  was  willing  to  send  any 


IRISH  AND   GERMAN  RECRUITS.  491 

number  of  substitutes  if  necessary,  but  not  his  son;  if  money 
could  purchase  his  exemption.  He  was  a  very  fair  sample  of 
the  kind  of  patriots  I  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting ;  and  I 
could  not  help  contrasting  the  whole-souled  enthusiasm  of  the 
Southern  people  with  the  disposition  shown  by  so  many  prom 
inent  adherents  of  the  Federal  cause,  to  let  anybody  and 
everybody  who  could  be  purchased  or  beguiled  do  their 
fighting  for  them,  rather  than  to  venture  within  smelling  dis 
tance  of  gunpowder  themselves. 

As  it  was  all  in  the  way  of  business,  however,  I  and  my 
partners  endeavored  to  accommodate  this  old  gentleman. 

I  knew  of  a  couple  of  barbers  in  Brooklyn,  well  built,  and 
hearty  young  colored  fellows,  and  I  accordingly  went  to  them, 
and  finally  induced  one  of  them  to  enlist  as  a  substitute  for 
the  old  man's  son.  He  came  over  to  our  office,  and  on  being 
enrolled,  received  five  hundred  dollars,  with  a  promise  that 
the  rest  of  his  bounty  would  be  handed  to  him  by  the  officer 
on  the  island.  Privately,  however,  he  was  told  how  he  might 
make  his  escape  by  giving  the  sergeant  at  the  gate  fifty  dol 
lars,  but  was  warned  not  to  return  to  the  city,  or  he  would  be 
arrested  and  tried  for  desertion.  He  acted  according  to  in 
structions,  and  deserted  so  easily  that  he  was  tempted  to  try 
it  over  again  several  times,  and  I  believe  he  managed  to 
pocket  several  bounties  without  being  caught. 

ENLISTMENT  OP  EMIGRANTS. 

The  emigrant  depot  at  Castle  Garden,  however,  was  the 
great  resort  of  the  bounty  and  substitute  brokers,  some  of 
whom  actually  had  agents  in  Europe,  who  deceived  the  poor 
people  there  with  all  kinds  of  promises,  and  then  shipped  them, 
to  become  the  prey  of  scamps  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  so 
soon  as  they  set  foot  on  our  shores. 

All  manner  of  inducements  to  enlist  were  held  out  to  the 
poor  Irish  and  Germans  at  Castle  Garden.  They  were  sur 
rounded  by  crowds  of  shouting  and  yelling  brokers  until  they 
were  fairly  bewildered,  and  found  themselves  enlisted  before 
they  well  knew  what  was  the  matter  with  them.  To  those 
who  hesitated,  the  most  lavish  promises  were  made ;  their 
wives  and  children  were  to  be  cared  for ;  they  were  to  receive 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land ;  money  in  larger  sums 
than  they  had  ever  beheld  before  was  flaunted  in  their  faces. 
One  fellow  would  shout,  "  Here  you  are,  sir :  come  this 


492  FOOD  FOR  CONFEDERATE  BULLETS. 

way  ;  I'm  your  man ;  I  have  five  hundred  dollars  for  you." 
Another  would  say,  "  Here  is  five  hundred  dollars  and  a  land 
warrant ;  "  and  another,  "  I  have  twenty-one  hundred  dollars 
for  you  if  you  will  come  with  me." 

The  poor  devils,  deafened  by  the  clamor  around  them, 
tempted  by  the  magnificent  inducements  held  out  to  them,  and 
believing  that  they  really  had  at  last  reached  the  Eldorado  of 
which  they  had  been  dreaming,  in  the  majority  of  cases  sur 
rendered  at  discretion,  and  were  marched  off  to  act  as  substi 
tutes  for  able-bodied  American  citizens  who  had  no  fancy  for 
fighting  the  rebels.  Every  broker's  office  had  its  runners,  just 
the  same  as  the  hotels,  who  were  posted  at  the  emigrant  sta 
tion  whenever  a  vessel  load  of  human  beings  came  into  port  j 
and  among  them  the  poor  foreigners,  who  came  over  here  to 
better  their  fortunes,  had  but  little  chance  to  become  anything 
but  food  for  Confederate  bullets. 

On  one  occasion  I  saw  a  squad  of  Germans  who  had  just 
landed,  and  who  seemed  to  be  looking  for  some  one.  As  a 
runner  approached  them,  their  head  man,  who  acted  as  inter 
preter,  drew  from  his  pocket  a  letter,  and  asked,  "  Are  you 
Captain  P.  ?  " 

"  I  am  here  in  his  place,"  replied  the  runner.  "  What  can 
I  do  for  you  ?  " 

The  German  hesitated  a  moment,  and  before  the  runner 
could  fairly  commence  work  with  him,  Captain  P.  made  his 
appearance  from  the  purser's  office,  where  he  had,  doubtless, 
just  been  receiving  intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  his  human 
cargo.  The  runner  seeing  P.,  and  knowing  that  his  oppor 
tunity  was  now  gone,  went  off  to  seek  for  his  prey  elsewhere, 
while  the  captain  proceeded  to  take  the  party  in  charge  with 
small  ceremony. 

"  Is  your  name  P.  ?  "  queried  the  leader. 

"  Yes,  and  you  are ;  "  and  without  more  ado,  he  hur 
ried  them  off  to  a  den  in  Greenwich  Street,  where  they  were 
forthwith  enlisted  in  the  Federal  service. 

These  people,  like  thousands  of  others,  had  been  picked  up 
in  Europe  by  agents,  under  all  kinds  of  pretexts  and  promises, 
and  shipped  for  this  side  of  the  ocean  just  like  so  many  cattle. 
Captain  P.  considered  himself  as  their  owner,  and  he  sold 
them  to  the  government  exactly  as  he  would  have  sold  cattle, 
if  that  sort  of  traffic  had  been  as  profitable  as  dealing  in  white 
human  beings. 

On  one  occasion,  when  I  was  at  the  station,  I  heard  a  runner 


EVILS   OF   THE   RECRUITING   SYSTEM.  493 

endeavoring  to  persuade  a  party  of  Irishmen  to  enlist,  by  rep 
resenting  that  if  they  would  do  so,  the  Federal  governmennt, 
after  it  had  got  through  with  putting  down  the  rebellion, 
intended  to  declare  war  with  England,  and  to  undertake  the 
liberation  of  Ireland.  He  said  that  the  conduct  of  England 
in  the  Trent  affair  was  an  insult,  for  which  redress  would  be 
demanded ;  but  that  the  government,  before  declaring  war, 
was  anxious  to  have  as  many  Irishmen  as  possible  in  the 
army,  feeling  assured  that  they  would  fight  against  their  old 
enemy  with  even  greater  ferocity  than  the  Americans. 

The  Irishmen,  all  of  whom  seemed  to  have  more  or  less 
whiskey  in  them,  became  very  much  excited,  and  went  off 
with  the  runner  to  attend  a  meeting,  which  he  told  them  was 
being  held  for  the  purpose  of  taking  measures  for  the  libera 
tion  of  Ireland.  The  place  of  meeting  was  a  recruiting  office, 
and  the  liberation  of  Ireland,  or  any  other  good  work,  was  the 
last  thing  thought  of  by  the  people  whom  the  unlucky  for 
eigners  found  there. 

The  wives  of  these  men  —  many  of  them  poor,  thinly-clad 
creatures  —  were  eager  for  them  to  go,  especially  when  they 
heard  that  such  large  sums  were  being  paid,  cash  down,  for 
bounties,  and  were  beguiled  by  all  sorts  of  promises  with 
regard  to  being  taken  care  of  by  the  government,  and  given 
so  many  acres  of  land  when  the  war  was  over. 

The  government  was  probably  as  little  responsible  for  the 
frauds  perpetrated  upon  these  poor,  ignorant  foreigners,  as  it 
was  for  the  many  other  rascalities  that  were  going  on.  It  is 
a  fact,  however,  that  the  Federal  armies,  during  the  last  eigh 
teen  months  of  the  war,  —  and  probably  during  a  much  longer 
time,  for  I  am  referring  only  to  matters  that  came  under  my 
own  observation,  —  were  mainly  recruited  from  these  foreign 
ers,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  quarrel  between  the 
South  and  the  North,  and  who  were  induced  to  become  food 
for  powder  under  all  manner  of  false  and  fraudulent  pretexts. 

AN  INEFFICIENT  SYSTEM  OF  RECRUITING. 

The  amount  of  money  that  was  squandered,  through  the 
system  of  recruiting  adopted  by  the  Federal  government, 
cannot  be  estimate o^  while  evils  far  worse  than  the  waste  of 
money  were  encouraged.  Playing  the  part  I  was,  I  had 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  way  things  were  being 
managed,  but  now  that  the  war  is  over,  1  suppose  I  have  the 


494  BAKER   INTERFERES. 

same  right  to  express  an  opinion  with  regard  to  this  as  any 
other  matter  of  public  policy. 

I  thought  at  the  time,  and  think  still,  that  a  most  unstates- 
manlike  blunder  was  committed  in  permitting  conscripts  to 
furnish  substitutes,  and  in  paying  bounties  to  encourage  vol 
untary  enlistments.  The  results  were,  that  the  government 
did  not  get  the  men  it  needed,  while  villanies,  the  demoraliz 
ing  influences  of  which  penetrated  to  nearly  every  class  of 
society,  were  directly  encouraged. 

There  should  have  been  a  rigid  conscription  law,  under 
which  all  citizens,  whether  rich  or  poor,  would  have  been 
treated  exactly  the  same.  The  men- who  were  drafted,  if  fit 
for  service,  should  have  been  compelled  to  shoulder  their 
muskets  and  go  to  the  front. 

If  there  was  any  justice  in  the  war  at  all,  it  was  a  rich 
man's  fight  just  as  much  as  it  was  a  poor  man's;  and  when 
the  time  came  for  deciding  who  should  and  who  should  not 
take  a  turn  on  the  battle-field,  the  chances  ought  to  have  been 
equal,  between  the  rich  men  and  the  poor  men,  of  drawing 
prizes  or  blanks  in  the  lottery. 

Had  things  been  managed  as  I  have  suggested,  not  only 
would  impartial  justice  have  been  done,  but  the  proportions 
of  the  national  debt  would  have  been  greatly  curtailed,  while 
the  generals  in  the  field  would  have  kept  their  ranks  full,  and 
the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy  would  have  occurred  at  a 
very  much  earlier  day  than  it  did. 

COLONEL  BAKER  UNDERTAKES  TO  INVESTIGATE  THE  FRAUDS. 

During  the  whole  time  that  I  was  interested  in  this  bounty- 
jumping  and  substitute-brokerage  business,  it  was  a  matter 
of  constant  surprise  to  me  that  some  effort  was  not  being 
made  by  the  government  to  put  a  stop  to  the  outrageous 
frauds  that  were  being  committed  in  the  most  open  manner 
every  day. 

The  matter  finally  was  taken  in  hand  by  Colonel  Baker, 
who  came  on  to  New  York,  and  located  himself  at  the  Astor 
House,  for  the  purpose  of  instituting  an  investigation.  He 
kept  himself  very  quiet,  and  endeavored  to  prevent  those 
against  whom  he  was  operating  from  knowing  that  he  was  in 
the  city  until  he  was  ready  to  deal  with  them.  It  was  neces 
sary  that  he  should  have  some  assistance,  however,  in  order 
to  begin  right ;  and,  by  that  peculiar  good  fortune  by  which  I 


A   FRIENDLY   CHAT   WITH.  BAKER.  495 

was  attended,  during  most  of  my  career  as  a  soldier  and  secret- 
service  agent,  something  prompted  him  to  send  for  me,  to  see 
whether  I  would  not  undertake  to  find  out  certain  things  for 
him  which  he  was  anxious  to  know,  but  which  he  was  afraid 
to  trust  either  himself,  or  any  of  the  male  members  of  his 
force  to  look  into,  lest  they  should  be  identified,  and  the  alarm 
be  given. 

When  I  received  a  "  strictly  private  and  confidential "  note 
from  Colonel  Baker,  requesting  me  to  call  on  him  at  seven 
o'clock,  on  a  certain  evening,  at  the  Astor  House,  I  scarcely 
knew  what  to  make  of  it ;  and,  fearful  that  something  against 
me  had  been  discovered,  I  was  in  considerable  doubt  as  to 
whether  to  respond  or  not.  My  previous  experience  with 
Baker,  however,  had  taught  me  that,  in  dealing  with  him,  the 
bold  way  was  much  the  best  way ;  and  so,  after  turning  the 
subject  over  in  my  mind,  I  concluded  to  see  him  at  the  hour 
mentioned,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  what  it  was  he 
wanted  of  me. 

BAKER  ASKS  ME  TO  HELP  HIM. 

I  accordingly  went  to  the  Astor  House,  and  sent  up  my 
name.  The  colonel  met  me  in  the  parlor,  and,  as  he  seated 
himself  beside  me,  he  said,  with  a  smile,  "  Now  tell  me,  my 
good  woman,  what  have  you  been  doing  with  yourself?" 

This  might  be  a  merely  friendly  greeting,  and  it  might  be 
just  the  opposite ;  but,  although  I  almost  feared  that  my  time 
was  come,  I  was  determined  not  to  give  him  a  chance  to  sus 
pect  me  by  my  words  or  manner.  So  I  said,  "  0, 1  have  been 
visiting  my  relations." 

"  I  received  your  letter,"  continued  the  colonel,  "  but  I  have 
been  a  little  surprised  at  not  seeing  you  in  Washington  since 
your  return  from  the  West." 

"  I  didn't  go  to  Washington,  because  I  really  didn't  care  to 
see  you.  The  fact  is,  I  made  such  a  bad  failure  in  what  I 
undertook  to  do  on  that  trip,  that  I  was  ashamed  of  myself." 

Baker,  however,  took  a  good-natured  view  of  what  he  was 
pleased  to  call  my  bad  luck,  and  went  on  to  tell  me  what  his 
errand  in  New  York  was,  and  to  ask  me  to  aid  him  in  certain 
matters  that  he  mentioned. 

I  professed  to  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  bounty  and 
substitute  frauds,  but,  after  discussing  the  subject  pretty 
thoroughly  with  him,  consented  to  try  and  find  out  what  he 


496  OTHER   ENTERPRISES. 

wanted,  and  to  sound  certain  people  for  him,  in  order  to  ascer 
tain  whether  they  were  willing  to  aid  him  in  carrying  on  his 
investigations. 

The  first  thing  I  did  after  parting  with  Baker  was  to  warn 
my  associates,  so  that  they  might  close  out  before  it  was  too 
late  to  do  so  on  advantageous  terms.  What  became  of  the 
others  in  the  business  I  did  not  care,  and  was  rather  glad 
than  otherwise  to  have  an  opportunity  of  putting  Baker  on 
their  track. 

In  a  couple  of  days  I  furnished  the  colonel  with  the  infor 
mation  he  wanted,  and,  before  a  great  while,  the  whole 
bounty-jumping  fraternity  were  thrown  into  consternation  by 
his  raid  upon  them. 

Baker  at  first  represented  himself  as  the  agent  of  an  inte 
rior  county,  and  in  that  capacity  he  bought  up  a  large  num 
ber  of  forged  enlistment  papers,  and  became  acquainted  with 
the  men  who  had  them  for  sale,  and  with  the  manner  of  pre 
paring  them.  He  also  disguised  himself  in  various  ways,  and 
jumped  several  bounties  in  the  course  of  one  day.  One  of 
his  men  was  enlisted,  sent  over  to  Governor's  Island,  bought 
off,  enlisted  again,  and  bought  off  again,  for  the  purpose  of 
demonstrating  how  the  thing  could  be  done.  Finally,  when  he 
understood  the  whole  business,  he  laid  his  plans,  and  made  an 
immense  number  of  arrests ;  but  before  he  had  more  than 
fairly  gotten  under  way  with  his  work  the  assassination  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  occurred,  and  he  was  recalled  to  Washington,  to 
take  a  part  in  the  search  that  was  being  made  for  Booth  and 
his  companions.' 

During  the  time  I  was  engaged  in  the  bounty  and  sub 
stitute  brokerage  business,  I  was  interested,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  in  several  other  enterprises,  and  went  on  several 
expeditions,  the  particulars  of  the  most  important  of  which 
will  be  related  in  subsequent  chapters.  My  circle  of  ac 
quaintance  among  the  better  class  of  people  was  large,  and  I 
took  great  pains  to  keep  on  the  best  terms  with  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  influence  who  were  known  to  be  ardent  sup 
porters  of  the  Federal  cause. 

In  conjunction  with  some  other  ladies,  I  at  one  time  started 
on  a  begging  expedition,  and  after  canvassing  a  large  part  of 
Brooklyn,  I  went  up  to  Albany.  I  collected,  in  all,  seventeen 
hundred  dollars,  half  of  which  I  gave  to  the  Soldiers'  Aid 
Society,  and  the  other  half  to  the  Southern  Relief  Fund,  in 
which  I  had  a  more  particular  interest. 


JlM   FISK.  497 

Among  the  noted  characters  whose  acquaintance  I  made  at 
this  period  was  Jim  Fisk.  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about 
him,  and  had  a  strong  desire  to  see  him.  Hearing  that  he 
was  to  dine  with  certain  parties  at  Delmonico's,  I  hired  a 
handsome  turnout,  and,  dressing  myself  very  elegantly,  went 
there  with  a  couple  of  friends. 

On  entering  the  dining-hall,  I  inquired  of  the  waiter  whether 
Mr.  Fisk  was  in  the  room.  He  replied  that  he  had  just  come 
in,  and  pointed  him  out  to  me.  I  went,  with  my  friends,  to 
the  table  next  to  his,  for  I  was  anxious  to  have  a  good  look  at 
him,  arid  to  hear  him  talk. 

Fisk  was  one  of  the  finest  looking  men  I  ever  saw.  He 
had  a  very  handsome  head,  and  a  large,  noble  eye,  and  he 
was  as  pleasant  and  affable  in  his  manners  as  he  was  attractive 
in  his  personal  appearance.  I  was  greatly  taken  with  him  at 
first  sight,  and  became  inspired  with  a  very  ardent  desire  to 
make  his  acquaintance. 

He  glanced  over  at  my  little  party  with  a  smile,  as  much  as 
to  say,  "  1  wonder  who  you  are  !  "  We  were  ready  to  leave 
before  he  was,  but  I  said  to  my  friends,  "  Let  us  wait  a  little ; 
I  am  expecting  some  one  j  "  my  object  being  to  find  an  oppor 
tunity  to  exchange  words  with  Fisk.  At  length  I  saw  that  he 
was  through  his  dinner,  and  so  said,  "  I  do  not  believe  my 
friend  is  coming ;  perhaps  we  had  better  not  wait  any  longer." 
We  then  walked  slowly  towards  the  door,  and  I  lingered  as 
long  as  I  could  at  the  cashier's  desk,  paying  for  my  dinner. 
Fisk  passed  by  me,  and  as  I  and  my  companions  went  out,  he 
was  standing  in  the  door-way,  conversing  with  some  one. 
When  stepping  into  the  carriage,  I  purposely  dropped  my 
handkerchief,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him  cume  for 
ward  and  pick  it  up.  He  handed  it  to  me  with  a  smile,  and 
made  a  very  courteous  bow  in  return  for  my  rather  profuse 
expressions  of  thanks. 

Fisk  afterwards  recognized  me  a  number  of  times  when  I 
met  him  driving  in  the  Park,  and  twice,  when  I  went  to  see 
him  on  business,  he  complied  with  my  requests  without  the 
least  hesitation.  One  of  my  interviews  with  him  was  when  I 
was  on  a  begging  expedition  for  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Society. 
He  gave  me  three  hundred  dollars,  of  which  I  gave  twenty- 
five  dollars  to  the  society,  and  the  balance  to  the  Southern 
Relief  Fund.  My  second  call  was  to  ask  for  a  pass  for  some 
poor  soldiers.  He  granted  it  immediately,  without  asking 
any  questions,  and  did  not  have  any  idea  that  the  soldiers 
32 


498  A   PURCHASE    OF   OIL   STOCK. 

were  escaped  Confederate  prisoners,  who  were  trying  to  get 
through  to  Canada. 

Fisk  may  have  been  profligate  in  his  life,  and,  from  a  cer 
tain  standpoint,  may  have  been  a  bad  man.  He  had  some 
truly  noble  qualities,  however,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  he 
had  so  many  warm  personal  friends.  . 

Among  the  other  incidents  of  this  period,  a  little  speculation 
in  oil  stock  is  worthy  of  a  brief  mention.  While  on  a  visit  to 
Philadelphia  I  met  an  oil  man,  who,  after  a  good  deal  of  talk, 
finally  induced  me  to  take  a  small  interest  in  his  company.  I 
learned,  however,  from  one -of  my  Confederate  friends,  very 
shortly  after,  that  the  thing  was  a  fraud,  and  sold  out,  fortu 
nately,  at  a  profit. 


BUSHROD  R.  JOHNSTON. 


GIDEON  J.  PILLOW, 


THOMAS  C.  HINDMAN 


CHAPTER  XLIIL 

THE   SURRENDER   OF   LEE. 

Another  Expedition  to  the  West.  —  Hiring  out  as  a  House  Servant.  —  A 
Termagant  Mistress-.  —  Obtaining  a  Situation  in  a  Copperhead  Family. 

—  Introduction  to  Confederate  Sympathizers.  —  A  Contribution  to  the 
Fund  for  the  Relief  of  Confederate  Prisoners.  —  I  go  to  Canada,  and 
from  there  to  New  York,  with  Orders  for  various  Confederate  Agents. 

—  Sherman's  March  through  the  Carolinas.  —  I  am  induced  to  go  to 
London  on  a  financial  Mission.  —  Unsatisfactory  News  received,  and  I 
hasten  Home.  —  The  News  of  Lee's  Surrender  brought  on  board  the 
Steamer  by  the  Pilot.  —  Excitement  in    Wall  Street.  —  A  Settlement 
with  my  Partner,  and  the  Last  of  my  secret  Banking. 

k 

MAKE  no  pretence  of  relating  in  detail  my 
movements  while  acting  as  a  Confederate  secret- 
service  agent  at  the  North,  as  such  a  course 
would  but  increase  the  bulk  of  this  volume  with 
out  adding  to  its  interest,  and  would  be  apt'  to 
weary,  rather  than  entertain  the  reader.  I  was  com 
ing  and  going  constantly,  my  principal  line  of  travel 
being  between  New  York  and  Washington,  although  I 
made  a  number  of  trips  to  Canada,  and  to  various 
points  in  the  States.  While  conducting  the  operations 
which  have  just  been  narrated,  I  was,  also,  as  will  readily  be 
understood,  transacting  business  of  a  varied  nature  on  account 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  sometimes  was  kept  very  steadily  on 
the  road.  A  narration  of  my  movements  just  previous  to  the 
close  of  the  war  will  give  a  sufficient  notion  of  the  kind  of 
work  I  was  engaged  in,  and  will  serve  to  complete  the  story 
of  this  portion  of  my  career. 

Shortly  after  my  interview  with  Colonel  Baker  at  the  Astor 
House,  and  my  consequent  withdrawal  from  all  connection 
with  the  bounty  and  substitute  brokerage  business,  I  was 
requested  to  make  a  journey  to  the  West,  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  some  information  which  my  associates  deemed  of 
importance. 

A  number  of  the  Confederate  agents  were  maturing  another 

499 


500  A  NEW  LINE   OF   BUSINESS. 

grand  scheme  for  the  release  of  the  prisoners,  and,  I  think, 
had  some  idea  of  organizing  them  into  an  army;,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  an  attack  in  the  Federal  rear. 

The  Johnson's  Island  failure  had  so  completely  discouraged 
me,  that  I  had  no  faith  in  any  schemes  of  this  kind,  although 
my  profound  sympathy  for  the  poor  prisoners  induced  me  to 
attempt  anything  in  my  power  in  their  behalf.  I  thought 
that,  even  if  I  could  not  procure  their  release,  I  at  least 
might  do  something  to  aid  them,  and  to  promote  their  comfort. 
I  therefore  accepted  the  mission  confided  to  me  without 
hesitation,  and  once  more  turned  my  face  westward. 

My  first  stopping- place  was  Dayton,  Ohio.  There,  in  accord 
ance  with  my  understanding  with  those  who  had  sent  me,  I 
dressed  myself  as  a  poor  girl,  and  began  to  look  for  a  situa 
tion  to  do  housework.  I  was  rather  a  novice  at  this  business, 
but  thought  that  I  was  not  too  old  to  learn,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  in  case  I  and  my  employers  did 
not  get  on  agreeably  together,  there  was  no  particular 
necessity  for  my  remaining  a  moment  longer  than  suited  my 
own  convenience. 

ONE  WAY  OF  GETTING  INFORMATION. 

v 

I  was  not  very  long  in  obtaining  a  situation  in  a  family  of 
Union  proclivities,  and  by  a  few  well-directed  inquiries,  and 
by  listening  to  the  conversation .  that  was  going  on,  in  the 
family,  I  discovered  that  there  were  a  number  of  "  Copper 
heads  "  in  the  city,  and  learned  the  names  of  some  of  the 
most  prominent  of  them.  I  also  picked  up  much  other  useful 
information  that  might  otherwise  have  been  unattainable. 

Before  I  had  been  in  the  house  three  days,  the  bad  temper 
of  its  mistress  got  the  better  of  me,  and,  concluding  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  endure  her  insolence  any  longer 
without  unpleasant  consequences  to  both  of  us,  I  resolved 
to  leave. 

This  woman  had  a  vile  temper,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that 
she  did  nothing  but  scold  and  find  fault  from  morning  till  night. 
As  her  treatment  of  me  was  undoubtedly  exactly  what  she 
accorded  to  every  young  woman  she  took  into  her  employ,  I 
wondered  how  she  ever  managed  to  keep  a  servant.  I  am 
sure  that  had  I  been  under  the  necessity  of  earning  my  bread 
and  butter  by  doing  housework  I  never  could  have  endured 
such  a  termagant,  and  I  felt  sentiments  of  sincerest  pity  for 


A   QUARREL.  501 

poor  girls  who  are  compelled  to  put  up  with  the  insolence 
and  bad  tempers  of  people  of  this  kind. 

Having  made  up  my  mind  to  leave,  I  commenced  looking 
about  me  for  another  situation,  arid  very  speedily  found  one 
to  my  liking  in  a  Copperhead  family. 

My  arrangements  *being  made,  the  next  time  the  madam 
undertook  to  be  saucy  to  me,  I  answered  her  in  her  own 
fashion,  and  in  a  few  moments  we  were  engaged  in  a  furious 
quarrel,  which  I  doubt  not  would  have  appeared  amusing 
enough,  and  ridiculous  enough,  to  any  impartial  looker-on. 
Finally  I  said,  with  all  the  dignity  I  could  command, "  Madam, 
I  will  leave  your  house  this  instant,  for  you  shall  never  have 
the  satisfaction  of  saying  that  you  discharged  a  Cuban  from 
your  employ." 

"  Why,  are  you  a  Cuban  ?  "  she  said,  calming  down  some 
what. 

I  then  began  to  speak  Spanish  to  her,  and  at  this  unexpect 
ed  development  she  put  on  the  most  puzzled  expression  im 
aginable. 

Without  paying  any  more  attention  to  her  I  went  out,  and 
engaging  a  man  to  take  my  trunk,  began  to  prepare  for  my 
departure.  When  my  trunk,  with  the  Cuban  express  card  on 
it,  came  down  stairs,  I  pointed  it  out  to  her,  and  she  opened 
her  eyes  considerably.  She  now  began  to  be  a  trifle  more 
gracious  in  her  manner,  and  making  a  rather  awkward  apology 
for  her  behavior,  saying,  that  she  did  not  mean  anything,  and 
that  I  must  not  mind  her  being  a  little  hasty  tempered,  and 
requested  me  to  reconsider  my  determination  to  leave.  , 

I  told  her  that  there  was  no  use  saying  anything  on  that 
point,  as  I  had  already  made  an  engagement  elsewhere.  She 
inquired  where  ;  and  I  said,  with  so  and  so,  around  the  corner, 
mentioning  the  names  of  the  persons. 

"  Why,"  said  she,  opening  her  eyes,  and  throwing  up  her 
hands  in  horror,  "  you  are  not  surely  going  with  them  !  Don't 
you  know  that  they  are  rebels?  " 

"  Well,  suppose  they  are ;  they  are  as  good  as  other  people, 
if  they  behave  themselves.  We  have  plenty  of  rebels  in 
Cuba." 

Seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to  restrain  me  from  going,  she 
offered  to  pay  me  for  the  time  I  had  been  in  her  employ ;  but, 
with  a  rather  contemptuous  wave  of  my  hand,  I  told  her  she 
might  keep  it,  or,  if  she  wished,  give  it  to  some  charitable 
object,  as  I  was  not  in  need  of  it ;  and  without  more  words 


502 

with   her,  walked  out  of  the    house,  and   betook   myself  to 
my  new  quarters. 

AMONG  FRIENDS. 

In  the  evening,  as  I  was  going  out  of  the  room  where  the 
family  were  at  supper,  I  heard  the  old  gentleman,  who  sat  at 
the  head  of  the  table,  say  to  his  wife,  "  Where  did  you  come 
across  that  nice,  tidy  piece  of  furniture  ? " 

The  lady  replied,  "  0,  she  was  at  Mrs.  B.'s,  and  they  were 
too  much  down  on  the  rebels  to  suit  her." 

When  I  came  into  the  room  again,  the  old"  gentleman, 
turning  towards  me,  inquired,  "Are  you  a  Yankee  girl?" 

"  No,  sir,"  I  replied ;  "  I  am  a  Cuban,  and  am  a  true  South 
ern  sympathizer." 

"  Well,  if  that  is  the  case,  you  have  got  into  the  right  place 
at  last.  I  am  from  old  Virginia,  and  I  would  not  have  one 
of  those  d — d  Yankee  women  about  the  house." 

In  the  evening  the  lady  of  the  house  came  to  my  room 
just  as  I  was  unpacking  my  trunk.  She  seemed  to  be  sur 
prised  at  the  extent  and  style  of  my  wardrobe,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Dear  me,  what  a  lot  of  nice  things  you  have  there  ! " 

"  Yes,"  I  replied.  "  Where  I  came  from  we  are  accustomed 
to  having  nice  things." 

As  I  thought  that  some  curiosity  with  regard  to  me  would 
be  excited,  I  resolved  to  try  and  overhear  the  conversation 
between  the  old  lady  and  her  husband ;  so,  when  she  left 
me,  I  hastily,  slipped  off  my  shoes,  and,  cautiously  following 
her  down  stairs,  stood  at  the  door  of  the  parlor  and  listened. 
She  gave  quite  a  glowing  account  of  the  elegant  dresses  and 
other  matters  she  had  seen  in  my  trunk,  and  said,  "  I  wonder 
who  she  is,  for  she  has  not  always  been  a  servant,  that  is 
certain." 

"  No ;  she  don't  look  like  a  servant,"  said  the  old  gentle 
man. 

"  Suppose  she  should  be  a  spy  ?  " 

"  Well,  she  may  be,  and  we  will  have  to  be  cautious  what 
we  say  before  her.  Is  she  in  her  room?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  will  have  a  talk  with  her  to-morrow,  and  try  and  get  her 
to  say  something  with  regard  to  who  she  is,  and  where  she 
comes  from." 

This  was  all  very  satisfactory,  so  far  as  it  went,  and  I  crept 
back  to  my  room  as  softly  as  I  could,  and  went  to  bed. 


A   PRIVILEGED   GUEST.  503 

The  next  morning  the  old  gentleman  came  into  the  room 
when  I  was  arranging  the  breakfast-table,  and  said,  without 
any  preliminaries,  "  Were  you  ever  married?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  am  a  widow." 

"  And  you  were  never  married  again  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  be  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  mind  if  the  right  kind  of  a  man  offered 
himself.  I  don't  care  to  marry  any  of  your  Yankees,  how 
ever,  and  the  Southern  boys  are  all  in  the  field." 

"  Look  here  ;  ain't  you  from  the  South  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  there." 

"  I  thought  so.  Because  you  found  yourself  among  stran 
gers,  and  got  out  of  money,  is,  I  suppose,  the  reason  why  you 
have  hired  out." 

"  Yes,  sir.  It  is  rather  hard,  after  having  had  plenty,  and 
after  being  waited  on  by  servants,  to  do  this  kind  of  work ; 
but  it  is  honorable." 

"  Put  down  those  plates,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  with  con 
siderable  emphasis  ;  "  you  can't  do  any  work  for  me  ;  but  my 
house  is  open  to  you,  and  you  are  welcome  to  stay  as  long  as 
it  suits  you. 

"  Here,  old  woman,"  he  cried  to  his  wife,  who  just  then  came 
into  the  room,  "  she  is  not  going  to  be  a  ^servant  in  our  house  ; 
she  is  a  genuine  Southerner,  and  we  must  treat  her  as  well  as 
we  know  how." 

OBTAINING  INFORMATION  ABOUT  THE  PRISONERS. 

I  was  forthwith  installed  as  a  privileged  guest,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  I  was  introduced  to  a  number  of  South 
ern  sympathizers.  Among  my  new  acquaintance  was  a  Con 
federate  soldier  who  had  escaped  from  one  of  the  prison  camps, 
and  who  was  endeavoring  to  make  his  way  South.  From  him 
I  learned  that  Cleveland  was  a  general  rendezvous  for  escaped 
prisoners,  and  I  accordingly  resolved  to  go  there. 

I  had  given  my  entertainers  to  understand  that  I  was  on 
some  secret  errand,  but  did  not  tell  them  what ;  while  they 
appreciated  the  importance  of  saying  no  more  than  was  neces 
sary  about  such  matters,  and  asked  me  no  impertinent  ques 
tions.  When  I  made  up  my  mind  to  leave,  I  went  to  the  old 
gentleman,  and  told  him  that  I  desired  to  go  South  where  I  had 
friends,  and  where  I  could  get  money. 


504  ON  PUBLIC   BUSINESS. 

He  asked  me  how  much  money  I  would  require  for  my 
journey,  and  I  told  him  that  I  thought  about  six  hundred  dol 
lars  would  see  me  through. 

"  Well,"  said  he, "  I  can  get  that  for  you  ;  "  and  going  out,  he 
soon  returned  with  the  amount,  remarking,  as  he  gave  it  to 
me,  "  We  Copperheads  can  always  raise  some  money  for  the 
cause,  even  if  we  have  no  men." 

The  old  gentleman  took  me  to  the  depot  in  his  buggy,  and 
bought  me  a  ticket  for  Cincinnati.  He  also  gave  me  a  letter 
to  the  head  of  the  Copperhead  ring  there.  This  document  I 
had,  however,  no  use  for,  although  I  accepted  it,  as  I  did  the 
six  hundred  dollars.  I  had  at  the  time  the  sum  of  ninety-three 
thousand  dollars  on  my  person,  and  had  in  deposit  in  several 
banks  over  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  six  hundred  dollars 
I  accepted  as  a  contribution  to  the  cause,  and  on  the  principle 
that  every  little  helps. 

Bidding  my  aged  friend  farewell,  I  took  my  seat  in  the  train, 
and  was  soon  on  my  way  to  Columbus  —  for  I  had  no  inten 
tion  of  going  to  Cincinnati.  On  reaching  Columbus,  I  took 
rooms  at  a  new  hotel  near  the  depot,  and  made  some  inquiries 
with  regard  to  the  prisoners ;  but  before  I  could  make  any 
definite  arrangement  concerning  them,  I  received  a  telegraphic 
despatch,  directing  me  to  go  to  Canada  immediately. 

A  CONTRIBUTION  TO  THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  PRISONERS. 

I,  therefore,  contributed  three  thousand  dollars  of  the  money 
which  I  had  with  me,  and  which  I  regarded  as  Southern  prop 
erty,  for  the  relief  of  the  prisoners,  and  for  the  purchase  of 
necessary  clothing.  A  Mrs.  R.  had  charge. of  this  prisoners' 
relief  fund,  and  I  had  every  confidence  that  the  money  in  her 
hands  would  be  properly  bestowed. 

Proceeding  as  rapidly  as  I  could  to  Canada,  I  had  a  confer 
ence  with  the  agent  there,  and  then  hastened  to  New  York. 
In  that  city  I  found  a  host  of  Confederates  who  were  anxiously 
waiting  to  receive  their  instructions  from  me.  One  was  to  go 
to  Nassau,  as  supercargo  ;  another  was  to  sail  by  the  next 
steamer  for  Paris,  to  receive  opium  and  quinine ;  a  third  was 
to  proceed  to  Missouri ;  a  fourth  to  the  north-western  part  of 
Texas,  and  so  on.  Giving  each  his  proportion  of  cash  for 
expenses,  and  telling  them  whom  to  draw  on  in  case  they  were 
short,  I  bade  them  good  by,  and  wished  them  success. 

These  matters  being  arranged,  I  went  to  see  the  broker 


THE   SURRENDER   OF  LEE.  505 


with  whom  I  was  in  partnership,  and  found  him  considerably 
exercised.  We  had  a  long  talk  about  the  situation,  and  he 
expressed  himself  as  very  uneasy  about  the  march  Sherman 
was  making  through  the  Carolinas,  and  its  effect  upon  the 
Confederate  bonds  we  had  on  hand.  I  was  not  as  easily  fright 
ened  as  he  was  j  but  I  could  not  help  acknowledging  that  if 
Sherman  succeeded  in  accomplishing  what  he  aimed  at,  it 
would  be  bad  for  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy,  and  that  it 
would  do  much  to  kill  the  sale  of  the  bonds.  I  therefore  al 
lowed  myself  to  be  persuaded  into  making  a  trip  to  London, 
for  the  purpose  of  a  personal  interview  with  our  agent  there, 
the  idea  being,  without  letting  him  or  others  ^ee  that  we  were 
uneasy,  to  persuade  him  to  sell  off  the  paper  we  held  at  almost 
any  price. 

A  VISIT  TO  LONDON  AND  PARIS. 

I  accordingly  proceeded  to  London  by  the  next  steamer, 
and  on  finding  the  agent,  was  soon  plunged  into  business  with 
him.  Confederate  bonds  were  not  selling  very  well  just  at 
that  time,  but  as  ours  cost  us  very  little,  we  could  afford  to 
dispose  of  them  at  very  moderate  figures  and  still  make  a 
handsome  profit.  I  put  mine  on  the  market  as  rapidly  as  I 
was  able,  but  before  I  had  cleared  out  the  lot,  intelligence 
was  received  that  Sherman  had  established  communication 
with  Grant,  and  many  persons  jumped  at  the  conclusion  that 
this  was  a  virtual  end  of  the  rebellion.  When  this  news  was 
received,  I  was  on  a  flying  visit  to  Paris.  I  did  not  think  that 
the  end  was  as  near  as  many  persons  supposed,  but  saw  very 
clearly  that  there  was  no  market  in  London  just  then  for  Con 
federate  bonds ;  and,  congratulating  myself  that  I  had  made 
out  as  well  as  I  had,  I  posted  to  Liverpool,  and  arrived  there 
just  in  time  to  catch  a  steamer. 

As  we  were  going  into  New  York  harbor  we  heard  the 
news  of  Lee's  surrender,  which  had  taken  place  the  day  be 
fore,  from  the  pilot.  He  was  unable  to  give  us  any  particu 
lars,  and  every  one  on  the  steamer  was  consequently  in  a  fever 
of  anxiety  to  get  ashore,  and  learn  the  full  extent  of  the  dis 
aster  to  the  Confederate  arms.  No  one  was  more  anxious 
than  myself,  as  no  one  had  reason  to  be,  and  the  idea  that  the 
hitherto  invincible  army  of  Virginia  —  the  conquerors  in  so 
many  well-fought  fields — should  at  last  be  compelled  to  yield 
to  the  enemy  fairly  stunned  me> 

Many  of  the  passengers  seemed  to  think  that  this  was  prac- 


506  THE   EXCITEMENT  IN  WALL   STREET. 

tically  the  winding  up  of  the  war.  I  could  not  bring  myself  to 
believe  this,  for  I  knew  that  the  Confederacy  had  other  armies 
in  the  field  who  were  both  able  and  willing  to  fight,  and  who 
were  led  by  generals  as  skilful  and  as  indomitable  as  Lee.  My 
heart  burned  hot  within  me  to  continue  the  fight,  and  I  re 
solved  to  stick  by  my  colors  to  the  last,  and  to  labor  with  even 
more  than  my  accustomed  zeal  for  the  Confederacy  so  long 
as  a  shadow  of  hope  remained. 

When  the  vessel  reached  the  wharf  I  went  ashore,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  the  Lafarge  House,  from  whence,  as  soon  as  I  could 
get  some  of  the  sea  rust  from  my  person,  I  called  a  carriage, 
and  ordered  the  driver  to  take  me,  as  fast  as  he  could,  to  the 
office  of  the  broker  in  Wall  Street  with  whom  I  was  in  part 
nership. 

WALL  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  AFTER  THE  NEWS  OF  LEE'S 
SURRENDER. 

Wall  Street,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Exchange,  was 
fairly  packed  with  a  furious,  excited  mass  of  human  beings, 
yelling,  shouting,  cursing,  and  not  a  few  absolutely  weeping. 
It  was  a  spectacle  to  be  remembered  ;  nothing  that  I  had  ever 
beheld  —  and  I  had  certainly  participated  in  many  exciting 
scenes  —  at  all  resembled  it.  Some  of  the  thousands  of  faces 
were  surcharged  with  unspeakable  horror ;  despair,  overpow 
ering  despair,  was  written  on  others  ;  curses  and  blasphemies 
were  heard  on  every  side,  and  it  might  have  been  supposed 
that  all  the  lunatics  in  the  country  had  been  turned  loose  in 
this  narrow  thoroughfare. 

Any  one  familiar  with  this  section  of  New  York,  however, 
could  see  at  a  glance  that  some  momentous  event  had  occurred 
which  had  seriously  affected  innumerable  important  financial 
operations,  and  that  in  a  moment  great  fortunes  had  been  lost 
and  won. 

At.  length  we  reached  the  office  I  was  seeking,  and  my 
partner  came  out  to  meet  me,  and  to  assist  me  to  alight  from 
the  carriage.  His  face  wore  a  very  sickly  smile  as  he  said, 
"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  ;  you  have  made  a  quick  trip." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  as  we  hurried  into  the  back  office.  "  Re 
gent  Street  has  no  charms  for  me  in  such  times  as  these." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  as  he  turned  the  key  in  the  lock  of  the 
door,  fairly  gasping  for  breath  as  he  asked  the  question,  and 
pale  as  a  sheet,  "  have  we  lost?" 


SHARE  AND  SHARE  ALIKE.  507 

"  No,  we  have  not  exactly  lost,  but  we  have  not  made  any 
thing  worth  speaking  of." 

"  Well,  so  long  as  we  have  not  lost,  we  have  done  pretty 
well." 

"  What  is  the  news  ?  " 

"  Lee  has  surrendered,  and  the  Confederacy  has  gone  up  ; 
that  is  the  whole  sum  and  substance  of  it." 

"  But  there  are  other  armies  in  the  field,  and  they  will  prob 
ably  be  able  to  hold  out.  It  does  not  follow  that  the  Confed 
eracy  is  gone  up  because  Lee  has  surrendered." 

"  People  about  here  think  differently  ;  at  any  rate,  the  Con 
federate  bond  business  is  killed." 

I  did  not  care  to  argue  this  point  with  him,  as  his  only  in 
terest  in  the  Confederacy  was  in  what  he  could  make  out  of 
it.  So  I  asked,  "  Have  you  got  in  all  the  money?" 

"  Yes,"  he  replied ;  "  but  the  bonds  have  gone  up  higher 
than  a  kite." 

"  Well,  you  bring  your  books  and  make  out  your  statement ; 
we  will  have  a  settlement  at  once,  for  I  intend  to  get  out  of 
the  country  as  fast  as  I  am  able." 

A  SETTLEMENT  OF  ACCOUNTS. 

The  next  day  I  met  him  in  accordance  with  our  agreement, 
and  presented  my  statement,  with  a  proposition  that  he  should 
take  half  the  bonds  in  my  hands,  and  we  stand  equal  losses. 

This  he  refused  point  blank  to  do,  and  professed  to  be  high 
ly  indignant  that  I  should  make  such  a  proposition. 

I  then  refused  to  settle ;  at  which  he  got  very  angry,  and 
threatened  to  have  me  arrested,  indulging  in  some  strong 
language,  which  did  not  frighten  me  a  bit ;  for,  apart  from  the 
fact  that  I  did  not  scare  easily,  I  knew  that  I  had  the  advan 
tage  of  him,  and  that  he  would  not  dare,  for  his  own  sake,  to 
carry  his  threat  into  execution.  I  had  about  sixty  thousand 
dollars  of  his  money,  while  he  had  only  about  eighteen  thou 
sand  of  mine,  in  consequence  of  which,  although  he  indulged 
in  a  good  deal  of  bluster,  he  finally  consented  to  settle  on 
equal  terms  —  share  and  share  alike,  both  in  the  profits  and 
the  losses.  This  matter  being  arranged,  I  bade  him  farewell, 
glad  enough  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  glad  to  get  out  of  such  a 
business.  Such  was  the  end  of  my  secret  banking  and  bro 
kerage  transactions. 


CHAPTER  XLIY. 

THE  ASSASSINATION    QF   PRESIDENT  LINCOLN,  AND 
END    OF  THE   WAR. 

Another  Western  Trip.  —  Delivering  Despatches  to 'Quantrell's  Courier. 
—  A  Stoppage  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  —  News  of  the  Assassination  of 
President  Lincoln.  —  Return  to  New  York.  —  Derangement  of  Plans 
caused  by  the  Assassination. —  I  again  go  West.  —  Mr.  Lincoln's  Body 
lying  in  State  at  Columbus.  —  Return  to  Washington,  and  Interview 
with  Baker.  —  I  meet  a  Confederate  Officer,  and  get  him  to  take  a  Mes 
sage  for  me  to  the  South.  —  An  aged  Admirer.  —  Colonel  Baker  pro 
poses  that  I  shall  start  on  an  Expedition  in  search  of  Myself.  —  A  Let 
ter  from  my  Brother,  and  a  Request  to  meet  him  in  New  York.  —  A 
Determination  to  visit  Europe.  —  I  accept  Baker's  Commission,  and 
start  for  New  York. 

S  I  did  not  know,  and  certainly  did  not  appre 
ciate  the  full  extent,  or  full  importance,  of 
the  great  disaster  that  had  befallen  the  Con 
federate  cause,  so  soon  as  my  business  in 
Wall  Street  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  I 
sought  a  conference  with  the  agents  with  whom  I 
had  been  co-operating.  They  were  inclined  to  take 
the  gloomiest  possible  view  of  the  situation.  With 
the  fall  of  Richmond,  and  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army, 
the  people  of  the  North  seemed  to  have  concluded  that  the 
long  contest  with  the  South  was  over,  to  all  intents  and  pur 
poses.  It  was  but  natural,  perhaps,  in  view  of  the  intense 
excitement  which  prevailed,  and  the  unanimity  of  public  opin 
ion,  that  the  Confederate  agents  should  have  •  regarded  the 
future  of  the  contest  in  a  great  degree  from  a  Northern 
standpoint,  and  should  have  been  largely  influenced  by  the 
opinions  which  they  heard  expressed  on  every  side. 

I,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  give  up  while  a  Southern 
soldier  remained  in  the  field,  and,  after  a  full  discussion  of  the 
condition  of  affairs,  I  persuaded  my  companions  to  view  mat 
ters  as  I  did..  Richmond  was  our  capital,  but  it  was  not  the 
whole  South ;  and  Lee's  army,  important  as  it  was,  was  far 
from  being  the  whole  Confederate  force.  General  Joe  John- 

508 


ANOTHER   WESTERN   MISSION.  509 

ston  had  an  army  of  veterans  very  nearly  if  not  quite  as 
large  as  that  of  Lee's,  and  was  capable  of  prolonging  the 
contest  for  an  indefinite  period ;  while,  throughout  the  West, 
there  were  a  number  of  detached  commands,  of  more  or  less 
strength.  If  these  could  be  united,  and  a  junction  effected 
with  Johnston,  or  communication  established  with  him,  so  that 
they  could  act  in  concert,  it  would  be-  possible  to  keep  the 
Federals  at  bay  for  a  good  while  yet.  If  the  fight  was  con 
tinued  resolutely,  there  was  no  knowing  what  might  happen 
to  our  advantage  ;  for,  as  we  all  knew,  the  people  of  the  North 
were  heartily  sick  of  the  war,  while  England  and  France 
were  impatient  to  have  it  come  to  an  end,  and  would  much 
prefer  to  have  it  end  with  a  victory  for  the  Confederates. 

Having  professed  an  eager  desire  to  workf  for  the  cause  so 
long  as  there  was  a  cause  to  work  for,  my  associates  sug 
gested  that  I  should  proceed  immediately  to  Missouri  with 
despatches  for  Quantrell,  which  it  was  important  he  should 
get  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  also  for  the  purpose 
of  consulting  with  the  agents  in  the  West  with  regard  to  the 
best  methods  of  proceeding  in  the  present  perplexing  emer 
gency. 

I  accepted  the  mission  without  hesitation,  and,  always 
ready  to  attend  to  business  of  this  kind  at  a  moment's  notice, 
with  scarcely  more  than  a  change  of  clothing  in  my  travelling 
satchel,  I  was  soon  speeding  westward. 

MEETING  QUANTRELL'S  COURIER. 

I  did  not  get  as  far  as  Quantrell's  headquarters,  as  I  was 
lucky  enough  to  meet  with  one  of  his  couriers,  to  whom  I 
delivered  the  despatches.  This  man,  to  whom  I  was  tolerably 
well  known,  was  very  eager  to  have  me  go  with  him  to  the 
general,  saying  that  I  could  be  of  the  greatest  possible  service 
in  the  present  juncture  by  acting  as  his  spy,  and  as  bearer  of 
despatches  to  the  agents  in  the  North.  I,  however,  was  com 
pelled  to  decline,  as  I  felt  that  I  had  more  important  work  to 
do  in  my  present  field,  which  it  would  not  do  for  me  to  drop. 

Having  discharged  this  errand,  I  went  to  Columbus,  Ohio, 
where  I  found  considerable  confusion  prevailing  on  account 
of  the  escape  of  some  prisoners.  I  took  rooms  at  the  Neil 
House,  and  had  conferences  with  several  persons  concerning 
the  affairs  at  the  South.  At  an  unusually  early  hour  I  retired, 
being  very  weary  on  account  of  having  travelled,  almost 


510  TERRIBLE   NEWS. 

without  interruption,  for  several  days,  and  having  lost  my 
sleep  the  night  before,  but  feeling  rather  happy  on  account 
of  a  Confederate  victory  of  which  I  had  heard. 

THE  BUZZING  OF  THE  TELEGRAPH  WIRES. 

I  was  soon  asleep,  but  could  not  have  been  so  very  long, 
before  I  was  awakened  by  the  continual  buzzing  of  the  tel 
egraph  wires,  which  were  attached  to  the  corner  of  the  hotel. 
I  paid  but  little  attention  to  this  singular  noise,  and  dozed  off 
again.  A  second  time  I  was  awakened  by  it,  and  began  to 
conjecture  what  could  be  the  matter.  I  knew  that  something 
very  important  must  have  happened,  and  thought  that  the 
Federals  must  either  have  achieved  a  great  victory,  or  have 
met  with  a  great  defeat.  I  was  too  tired,  however,  to  attempt 
any  inquiry  just  then,  and,  with  all  sorts  of  fancies  floating  in 
my  mind,  as  the  constant  buzzing  of  the  wires,  which  never 
ceased  for  a  moment,  sounded  in  my  ears,  I  dropped  off  into  a 
sound  sleep,  and  did  not  awaken  until  morning. 

I  arose  quite  early,  and  going  to  the  window,  saw  that  the 
whole  front  of  the  building  was  draped  in  mourning.  Won 
dering  what  this  demonstration  could  mean,  and  thinking  that 
the  death  of  some  prominent  general  must  have  occurred,  but 
never  for  a  moment  suspecting  the  terrible  truth,  I  made  my 
toilet,  and  descended  to  find  out  what  was  the  matter. 

THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  LINCOLN. 

A  great  number  of  people,  notwithstanding  the  early  hour, 
were  moving  about  the  hotel,  and  a  considerable  crowd  was 
already  assembled  in  the  hall.  Still  wondering  what  could 
have  happened,  I  asked  a  gentleman  whom  I  met  hurrying 
down  stairs  what  was  the  news,  and  he  told  me  that  President 
Lincoln  had  been  assassinated  by  one  J.  Wilkes  Booth  the 
night  before ! 

This  intelligence  startled  me  greatly,  both  on  account  of 
the  terrible  nature  of  the  crime  itself,  and  because  I  felt  that 
it  could  work  nothing  but  harm  to  the  South.  I  also  felt  for 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  family  ;  for  I  liked  him,  and  believed  that 
he  was  an  honest  and  kind-hearted  man,  who  tried  to  do  his 
duty,  as  he  understood  it,  and  who  was  in  every  way  well 
disposed  towards  the  South. 

Descending  to  the  drawing-room,  I  found  a  large  number 


PLANS   DERANGED.  511 

of  ladies  there,  many  of  whom  were  weeping,  while,  in  the 
street,  the  crowd  was  increasing,  and  every  one  seemed  to  be 
in  the  greatest  excitement.  Across  the  street  the  State  House 
was  being  draped  in  mourning,  while  a  number  of  persons 
already  wore  mourning  emblems.  Before  the  day  was  over 
nearly  every  one  had  on  some  badge  of  mourning,  and  nearly 
every  house  was  draped,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  black. 
I  did  not  attempt  to  imitate  my  neighbors  in  this  matter.  I 
was  sincerely  sorry,  both  for  personal  and  political  reasons, 
that  this  dreadful  event  had  occurred ;  but,  nevertheless,  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  the  enemy  of  the  cause  I  loved,  and  for  which  I 
labored,  and  it  would  have  been  intensely  repugnant  to  my 
feelings  to  have  made  any  outward  manifestations  of  mourn 
ing.  At  the  same  time  it  is  possible  I  may  have  mourned  in 
my  heart  with  more  sincerity  than  some  of  those  who  were 
making  a  greater  show  of  their  grief. 

This  sad  event  rendered  it  necessary  that  I  should  have  an 
immediate  conference  with  my  associates  in  the  East,  and  I 
therefore  returned  as  fast  as  I  could  to  New  York,  and  from 
thence  went  on  to  Washington. 

The  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  caused  a  derangement 
of  the  plans,  and  no  one  knew  exactly  what  had  best  be  done 
next.  I  was  requested,  however,  to  make  a  trip  west  again, 
for  the  purpose  of  communicating  with  certain  parties,  and 
accordingly  departed  on  my  last  errand  in  behalf  of  the  Con 
federacy. 

LINCOLN'S  BODY  LYING  IN  STATE. 

My  business  being  transacted,  I  started  to  return,  and  again 
found  it  necessary  to  pass  through  Columbus.  When  I 
arrived  there  the  body  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  lying  in  state. 
The  town  was  crowded  with  people,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
get  a  room  at  any  of  the  hotels.  I  went  to  the  Neil  House, 
but  was  obliged  to  content  myself  with  a  bed  on  the  drawing- 
room  floor,  my  accommodations  being,  however,  quite  as 
sumptuous  as  those  of  hundreds  of  others. 

I  doubt  if  the  little  city  ever  had  so  many  people  in  it  be 
fore,  and  all  day  long  a  stream  of  men  and  women  poured  in 
at  one  door  and  out  at  the  other  of  the  apartment  where  the 
casket  containing  the  remains  of  the  president  was  lying  in 
state.  It  was  a  sad  sight,  and  it  troubled  me  greatly  —  so 
greatly  that  I  was  scarcely  able  to  eat  or  sleep ;  for,  in  addi 
tion  to  my  natural  grief,  I  could  not  prevent  my  mind  from 


512  DISCUSSING    THE   TRAGEDY. 

brooding  on  the  possibly  detrimental  effects  which  the  assas 
sination  would  have  on  the  fortunes  of  the  South. 

After  an  early  breakfast  the  next  morning,  I  took  the  east 
ward-bound  train,  and  returned  to  Washington,  and  on  reach 
ing  that  city,  called  to  see  Colonel  Baker.  We  exchanged 
but  a  few  words,  as  Baker  said  that  he  had  an  engagement, 
which  he  would  be  compelled  to  attend  to  immediately,  but 
he  would  see  me  at  half  past  seven  o'clock,  at  my  hotel. 

MEETING  WITH  A  CONFEDERATE  OFFICER  IN  THE  CAPITOL. 

Leaving  him,  I  started  off  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  find 
out  something  about  Mrs.  Surratt  and  the  other  prisoners,  and 
their  probable  fate.  In  the  Capitol  I  met  a  Confederate  offi 
cer,  whom  I  knew.  I  was  astonished  to  see  him,  and  going 
up,  I  said,  — 

"  0,  what  could  have  induced  you  to  come  here  at  such  a 
critical  time  as  this  ?  " 

"  To  see  and  hear  what  is  going  on,"  he  replied. 

"  This  is  an  awful  affair.". 

"  Yes ;  and  it  is  particularly  unfortunate  that  it  should  have 
happened  at  this  particular  time.77 

"  When  will  you  return  ? 77 

"  To-night,  if  somebody  less  amiable  than  you  are  does  not 
recognize  me  and  take  me  in  charge.77 

I  then  asked  him  if  he  would  carry  a  letter  through  for 
me  to  my  brother,  and  on  his  promising  me  that  he  would,  I 
made  an  engagement  for  him  to  go  to  my  room  in  the  hotel. 
He  would  find  the  door  unlocked,  and  the  key  inside,  and  I 
would  meet  him  at  five  o'clock,  or  shortly  after.  I  then  took 
leave  of  him,  bidding  him  be  careful  of  himself,  as  the  people 
were  excited  and  suspicious,  and  he  might  easily  get  himself 
into  serious  trouble. 

Returning  to  the  hotel,  I  noticed  quite  a  number  of  ladies 
in  the  drawing-room  as  I  passed  by.  I  thought  I  would  join 
them,  for  the  sake  of  listening  to  the  different  conversations 
that  were  going  on,  thinking  that  perhaps  I  might  hear  some 
thing  that  it  would  be  advantageous  for  me  to  know.  On 
reaching  my  room,  therefore,  I  dressed  myself  in  a  hand 
some  black  gros-grain  silk  dress,  and  putting  a  gilt  band  in 
my  hair,  descended,  and  took  a  seat  at  one  of  the  drawing- 
room  windows,  facing  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 

Those  around  me  all  appeared  to  be  discussing  the  tragedy, 


AN   ELDERLY   GENTLEMAN.  513 

and  many  absurd  theories  and  speculations  were  indulged  in 
with  regard  to  it.  I  was  indignant,  as  I  had  been  a  number 
of  times  before,  to  hear  President  Davis,  and  others  of  the 
Confederate  leaders,  accused  of  being  the  instigators  of  the 
crime.  I  well  knew  that  they  were  incapable  of  anything  of 
the  kind ;  and  Mr.  Davis,  in  particular,  I  had  reason  to  believe 
entertained  a  high  respect  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  most  sincerely 
lamented  his  death,  and  especially  the  manner  of  it,  feeling 
that  he,  and  the  whole  people  of  the  South,  would  be,  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  held  censurable  for  something  they  had 
nothing  to  do  with,  and  which  they  were  powerless  to  prevent. 

A  HOTEL  ACQUAINTANCE. 

After  I  had  been  gazing  out  of  the  window  some  little  time, 
watching  the  crowds  of  people  passing  to  and  fro  along  the 
street,  an  elderly  gentleman  came  up,  and  after  addressing  a 
few  courteous  words,  asked  if  I  was  a  resident  of  the  city. 

I  replied  that  I  had  arrived  only  a  few  hours  before  from 
Columbus,  Ohio,  but  that  I  was  a  Cuban. 

"  Ah,  indeed,"  said  he ;  and,  taking  a  seat  beside  me,  he 
commenced  a  conversation,  by  asking,  "  What  do  your  people 
think  of  our  war?" 

"  0,  they  think  it  is  very  bad  j  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  is 
about  over  now." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  assassination  of  the  president?" 

"  That  is  much  to  be  regretted  j  but  you  know  we  Spaniards 
do  not  take  such  things  quite  so  much  to  heart  as  some 
people." 

"  It  .will  be  a  bad  thing  for  the  South,  and  especially  for 
some  of  the  Southern  leaders ;  they  will  be  sure  to  hang  Jeff/ 
Davis." 

I  thought  that  it  was  catching  before  hanging ;  but,  con 
cluding  that,  perhaps,  it  would  be  best  not  to  put  all  my 
thoughts  into  words,  I  merely  said,  "  I  scarcely  agree  with 
you,  sir.  Why  should  one  man  die  for  the  deeds  of  another  ?  " 

"  0,  those  Southern  leaders  are  all  corrupt,  and  they  sent 
Booth  here  with  instructions  to  do  this  deed,  for  the  purpose 
of  enabling  them  to  carry  out  some  of  their  schemes ;  they 
are  a  set  of  fiends,  thieves,  and  cutthroats,  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  there  is  not  an  honest  man  among  them." 

This  excited  my  anger  greatly ;  but,  considering,  that,  under 
the  circumstances,  discretion  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  I 
33 


514  UNAPPRECIATED    ATTENTION. 

stifled  my  feelings,  and  concluded  to  cultivate  this  old  gentle 
man's  acquaintance  further,  with  the  idea  that  perhaps  I  mig%ht 
be  able  to  make  use  of  him  in  the  execution  of  any  plans  I 
might  have  for  the  future. 

Taking  out  my  watch,  I  found  that  it  was  half  past  three 
o'clock  ;  so,  excusing  myself,  I  went  to  my  room,  and  put  on 
my  hat  to  go  out.  On  coming  down  stairs  again,  I  found  my 
new  acquaintance  in  the  hall,  near  the  ladies'  entrance.  He 
asked  me  if  I  was  going  shopping ;  and  on  my  replying  that 
I  merely  proposed  to  go  as  far  as  the  executive  mansion,  for 
the  sake  of  a  little  exercise,  he  suggested  that  I  ought  to 
have  an  escort,  and  volunteered  to  accompany  me.  I  thought 
this  rather  an  impudent  proceeding,  considering  our  very 
brief  acquaintance  ;  but  not  knowing  what  advantage  he  might 
be  to  me,  I  accepted  his  attentions,  with  apparently  the  best 
possible  grace. 

Getting  into  a  street  car,  we  rode  as  far  as  the  Park,  oppo 
site  to  the  War  Department.  Taking  a  seat  together  under 
the  trees,  we  entered  into  a  conversation,  which  convinced  me 
that  the  old  gentleman  was  a  harmless  eccentric,  who  had 
become  suddenly  smitten  with  my  charms.  He  had  some 
very  odd  notions  about  politics,  finance,  and  the  like,  but 
from  such  matters  as  these  he  ere  long  began  to  discourse 
upon  my  personal  attractions,  and  finally  became  quite  tenderly 
demonstrative  towards  me.  I  believe  the  old  gentleman  would 
have  asked  me  to  marry  him,  had  I  given  him  the  least  en 
couragement,  but  I  was  beginning  to  find  him  a  nuisance,  and 
resolved  to  return  to  the  hotel. 

He  persisted  in  going  with  me,  and  when,  on  reaching  the 
hotel,  I  hastily  and  somewhat  impatiently  excused  myself)  for, 
looking  at  my  watch,  I  saw  that  it  was  ten  minutes  past  five 
o'clock,  he  asked  whether  he  might  escort  me  to  supper.  I 
said  that  he  was  very  kind,  and  to  get  rid  of  him,  promised 
that  he  might  have  the  pleasure  of  my  company  to  the  even 
ing  meal  if  he  desired  it.  I  then  bounded  up  stairs,  anxious 
to  keep  my  appointment. 

When  I  reached  my  room  door  it  was  locked,  but  in  a 
moment  more  the  key  was  turned,  and,  on  going  in,  I  found 
my  Confederate  officer  waiting  for  me.  He  said  that  some 
one,  after  he  had  been  there  a  short  time,  had  tried  to  get  in  ; 
he  had  put  his  foot  against  the  door  to  prevent  it  from  being 
opened ;  whereupon  the  person  outside  had  worked  at  the 
lock  for  a  while  with  a  key.  I  replied,  that  he  need  not  be 


SERVING   THE    COUNTRY.  515 

alarmed,  as  it  was  probably  one  of  the  chambermaids  with 
clean  towels,  and  that  being  unable  to  obtain  admission,  she 
had  left  them  on  the  knob  of  the  door. 

He  told  me  that  he  would  be  compelled  to  leave  the  city  at 
eleven  o'clock,  and,  as  he  had  several  things  to  attend  to,  if  I 
wanted  to  send  anything  by  him,  it  would  be  necessary  for 
me  to  get  it  ready  at  once.  I  therefore  seated  myself  to  write, 
but,  on  a  moment's  reflection,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
risk  was  too  great,  as  he  was  not  unlikely  to  be  captured,  and 
determined  to  give  him  a  verbal  message. 

After  discussing  the  situation  with  as  much  fulness  as  we 
were  able,  with  the  brief  time  at  our  disposal,  I  went  to  my 
trunk,  and,  getting  an  envelope,  sealed  twenty  dollars  in  it, 
and  handed  it  to  him,  as  I  knew  that  he  must  be  short  of 
money.  He  made  some  to  do  about  taking  it,  but  on  my 
insisting,  he  put  it  in  his  pocket,  with  an  effusion  of  thanks, 
and  said  farewell.  I  turned  the  gas  in  the  hall  down  until  I 
saw  him  out  of  sight,  and  then  prepared  myself  for  my  inter 
view  with  Colonel  Baker. 

On  reaching  the  drawing-room,  I  found  there  the  old  gentle 
man  who  had  been  so  attentive  during  the  afternoon,  and  who 
was  apparently  waiting  for  me  rather  impatiently.  We  .had 
scarcely  started  a  conversation,  however,  before  Baker  came 
in,  with  a  friend  of  his  from  Baltimore.  I  excused  myself 
with  my  aged  admirer  with  very  little  ceremony,  and  retired 
with  Baker  and  his  friend  to  the  private  parlor,  where  we 
could  talk  without  being  disturbed. 

BAKER  HAS  A  PROPOSITION  TO  MAKE. 

As  we  seated  ourselves,  Baker  said  to  his  friend,  "  This  is 
one  of  the  best  little  detectives  in  the  country,  but,  unfortu 
nately,  she  does  not  like  the  business." 

"  0,  the  business  does  well  enough,"  I  replied  ;  "  but  I  don't 
like  having  bad  luck  in  it." 

"  We  can't  always  have  good  luck,  you  know,"  said  Baker ; 
"  but  I  have  a  job  on  hand  now  which  I  want  you  to  under 
take  for  me,  and  which  I  think  you  can  manage  if  you  will  do 
your  best.  If  you  succeed,  you  shall  be  paid  handsomely." 

"  0,  colonel,  you  are  not  going  to  hold  out  the  pay  as  an 
inducement  for  me  to  serve  the  country,  are  you?  "  I  could 
not  say  "  my  country." 

"  0,  d — n  the  country  ;  you  don't  suppose  we  are  going  to 


516  A  SLIPPERY   CUSTOMER. 

work  for  it  for  nothing,  do  you  ?  I  want  you  to  find  this 
woman  who  is  travelling  and  figuring  as  a  Confederate  agent. 
Some  of  my  people  have  been  on  her  track  for  a  long  time, 
but  she  is  a  slippery  customer,  and  they  have  never  been  able 
to  lay  hands  on  her." 

I  knew  it  was  myself  Baker  meant,  especially  when  he  took 
out  of  his  pocket  a  picture  similar  to  the  one  the  detective 
had  shown  me  on  the  cars  a  number  of  months  previous. 

Baker  continued.  "  Here  is  her  picture  ;  you  can  take  it,  for 
I  am  having  some  more  struck  off.  I  am  going  to  capture  her 
ladyship  this  time,  dead  certain,  if  she  is  in  the  country,  as  I 
believe  she  is." 

My  sensations  on  hearing  Baker  utter  these  words  cannot 
be  described.  What  could  make"  him  so  eager  to  capture  me 
just  at  this  particular  moment?  Could  he  possibly  suspect 
me  of  having  anything  to  do  with  the  assassination  plot?  The 
very  idea  of  such  a  thing  made  me  sick,  for  I  felt  that,  excited 
as  every  one  then  was,  an  accusation  of  this  kind  was  all  but 
equivalent  to  a  condemnation.  I  managed,  however,  to  main 
tain  my  composure,  but  inwardly  resolved  that  the  best  thing 
I  could  do  would  be  to  leave  the  country  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment. 

After  discussing  the  method  of  procedure  with  regard  to 
the  search  I  was  to  institute  for  myself,  I  asked  Baker  what 
he  thought  the  result  of  the  trial  of  the  prisoners  accused  of 
being  implicated  in  the  assassination  plot  would  be. 

"  0,"  said  he,  "  they  will  all  hang." 

"  Now,  I  think  that  will  be  too  bad.  Even  if  Mrs.  Surratt 
is  proven  to  be  guilty,  they  might  commute  her  sentence.  It 
will  be  a  terrible  thing  to  hang  a  woman,  especially  as  she 
was  not  actually  one  of  the  assassins.  Do  you  really  think 
she  is  guilty  ?  " 

"  No  ;  but  the  affair  was  planned  in  her  house,  and  she  is  in 
a  good  part  responsible  for  it.  I  am  very  much  in  hope  that 
a  full  confession  from  her  will  be  obtained  by  her  priest." 

"  But,  colonel,  the  evidence  against  her  is  all  circumstantial, 
and  surely  it  is  not  right  or  lawful  to  sentence  her  to  death, 
unless  it  is  absolutely  proven  that  she  is  guilty." 

"  In  times  like  .this,  it  would  never  do  to  acquit  her,  or  to 
send  her  to  prison,  for  the  mob  would  take  the  law  into  their 
own  hands.  Besides,  it  is  necessary  to  make  an  example." 

Baker's  friend  here  said,  "  I  am  glad  that  they  got  Booth." 

At  this  remark  I  scanned  Baker's  countenance  closely.     He 


VANISHED   DREAMS.  517 

smiled,  and  said,  "  So  am  I.  I  intended  to  have  his  body, 
dead  or  alive,  or  a  mighty  good  substitute  for  it,  for  no  com 
mon  criminal  is  worth  the  reward." 

This  was  a  very  queer  expression,  and  it  set  me  to  think 
ing,  and  to  studying  certain  phases  of  Baker's  character  more 
closely  than  I  had  ever  done  before. 

The  colonel  and  his  friend  then  left.  I  was  to  have  until 
nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  to  decide  whether  I  would 
undertake  the  business  he  desired  me  to  or  not. 

MY  BROTHER  SUGGESTS  A  TRIP  TO  EUROPE. 

The  next  morning,  before  Baker  came,  I  received  my  mail, 
and  in  it  a  letter  from  my  brother,  who  expected  to  be  in  New 
York  in  a  few  days  with  his  wife  and  child.  He  proposed 
that,  as  we  were  the  sole  remnants  of  our  family,  we  should 
continue  with  each  other  in  the  future,  and  intimating  that, 
considering  the  present  distracted  state  of  the  country,  it 
would,  perhaps,  be  best  for  us  to  go  to  Europe  for  a  time, 
until  things  quieted  down  somewhat. 

This  letter  decided  me  upon  what  course  to  pursue,  and  I 
determined  to  accept  the  commission  from  Baker,  thinking  by 
so  doing  I  would  more  effectually  prevent  any  of  his  detectives 
discovering  my  identity,  while  so  soon  as  my  brother  and  his 
family  arrived,  we  would  proceed  across  the  Atlantic  without 
further  delay,  and  remain  there  until  the  time  should  come 
when  no  one  would  have  any  object  in  troubling  us. 

The  army  of  Joe  Johnston,  like  that  of  Lee,  had  been  sur 
rendered,  and  it  was  evident  to  me  that  the  war  was  practi 
cally  at  an  end,  although  I  thought  it  not  impossible  that  it 
might  be  prolonged  in  a  desultory  manner  for  some  time  yet 
in  the  West  and  South-west.  I  could  plainly  see,  however, 
that  further  fighting  would  do  no  good,  and  that  the  Con 
federate  cause  being  lost,  my  mission  in  connection  with  it 
was  at  an  end,  and  my  sole  duty  now  was  to  consider  my  own 
welfare  and  that  of  my  family. 

All  the  bright  dreams  of  four  years  ago  had  vanished  into 
nothingness,  and  yet  I  could  not  regret  having  played  the  part 
I  did.  I  loved  the  South  and  its  people  with  a  greater 
intensity  than  ever,  while  at  the  same  time  many  of  my 
prejudices  against  the  North  had  been  beaten  down  by  my 
intercourse  with  its  people  during  the  past  eighteen  months. 
There  were  good  and  bad  in  both  sections,  and  I  believed  that 


518  GETTING   OUT    OF  DANGER. 

if  the  good  men  and  women,  both  North  and  South,  would 
now  earnestly  and  patriotically  unite  in  an  endeavor  to  carry 
out  the  ideas  of  the  founders  of  the  government,  they  would, 
ere  many  years,  be  able  to  raise  the  nation  to  a  pitch  of  great 
ness  such  as  had  yet  been  scarcely  imagined. 

As  for  my  own  experiences,  if  not  exactly  what  I  had 
expected  them  to  be,  they  were  sufficiently  rich  and  varied 
in  incident  to  satisfy  all  my  ambitions.  I  had  participated  in 
bloody  battles  and  sieges,  and  in  the  thickest  of  the  danger 
had  borne  myself  so  valorously  as  to  win  the  commendation 
of  men  who  did  not  know  what  fear  was,  while,  in  addition  to 
the  campaigning  I  had  gone  through,  my  adventures  as  a  spy 
and  secret-service  agent,  were  not  only  of  advantage  to  the 
cause  I  had  espoused,  but  they  had  supplied  me  with  exciting 
and  absorbing  work  which  had  demanded  the  best  exercise  of 
all  my  faculties.  I  felt  that  I  had  reason  to  be  proud  of  my 
war  record,  and  was  the  better  satisfied  with  myself,  as  I 
knew  that  I  had  won  the  approbation  of  noble-minded  men 
whose  esteem  was  well  worth  winning. 

When  Colonel  Baker  called,  therefore,  to  hear  my  decision,  I 
told  him  that  I  would  undertake  to  do  what  he  desired.  He 
accordingly  gave  me  my  instructions,  and  I  was  astonished  to 
find  how  much  he  knew  of  some  of  my  movements.  He  and 
his  men  must  have  been  on  the  point  of  capturing  me  many 
times,  and  they  undoubtedly  would  have  done  so,  had  I  not  had 
the  wit  to  take  the  course  I  did  in  cultivating  his  acquaintance. 
With  many  self- congratulations  at  having  been  successful  in 
escaping  thus  far,  and  resolved  that,  if  possible,  Baker  should 
not  know  me  except  as  one  of  his  own  agents,  I  started  for 
New  York  on  a  search  for  myself  ostensibly,  but  in  reality  to 
wait  anxiously  for  the  coming  of  my  brother,  in  whose 
company  I  proposed  to  get  beyond  the  reach  of  the  detective 
corps,  with  which  I  had  been  so  long  associated  in  such  a 
singular  manner,  with  all  the  expedition  I  could  manage. 


CHAPTER    XLY. 

A  TOUR   THROUGH   EUROPE. 

Off  for  Europe.  —  Seasickness. —  An  over-attentive  Doctor.  —  Advantages 
of  knowing  more  Languages  than  one.  —  A  young  Spaniard  in  Love.  — 
Arrival  in  London.  —  Paris  and  its  Sights.  —  Rheims  and  the  Cham 
pagne  Country.  —  Frankfort  on  the  Main.  —  A  beautiful  Country,  and  a 
thriving  People.  —  A  Visit  to  Poland.  —  Return  to  Paris,  and  meeting 
with  old  Confederates.  —  Friends  who  knew  me,  and  who  did  not  know 
me. —  Finding  out  what  my  old  Army  Associates  thought  of  me. — 
Back  to  London.  —  A  Visit  to  Hyde  Park,  and  a  sight  of  Queen  Vic 
toria.  —  Manchester  and  its  Mills.  —  Homeward  Bound.  —  Return  to 
New  York,  and  Separation  from  my  Brother  and  his  Family. 

T  was  not  many  days  before  my  brother  arrived 
with  his  wife,  two  children,  and  nurse.     It  was 
a  most  joyful  reunion,  and  I  tried  to  be  as  affec 
tionate  as  I  knew  how  to  my  sister-in-law  and 
the  pretty  little  babes,  one  of  whom  was  a  name 
sake  of  my  own.     It  was  impossible  for  me,  however, 
to  feel  towards  her  as  I  did  towards  my  brother,  and  I 
fancied  that  she  was  not  as  well  disposed  towards  me  as 
she  might  have  been. 

Once  together,  our  arrangements  were  soon,  made,  and 
we  left  New  York  on  board  of  one  of  the  Cunard  steamers.  I 
wondered  what  my  friend  Colonel  Baker  would  think  of  my 
disappearance,  and  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  neat  trick  I 
had  played  upon  him. 

Despite  the  reasons  I  had  for  being  glad  to  find  myself 
speeding  towards  a  foreign  shore,  it  was  not  without  a  pang 
of  regret  that  I  watched  those  of  America  fading  in  the  dis 
tance.  This,  after  all,  was  my  country,  where  dwelt  my 
friends ;  here  was  the  scene  of  the  great  events  in  which  I 
had  taken  a  not  altogether  unimportant  part ;  and  it  was  like 
separating  from  a  portion  of  myself  to  sail  away  from  such  a 
land,  and  to  feel  that,  probably,  I  might  never  return. 

Before  we  had  been  long  at  sea,  however,  I  had  something 
else  to  think  of  than  sentimental  regrets.  Both  my  brother 

519 


520  A  RIVAL   FOR  THE  DOCTOR. 

and  myself  were  compelled  to  succumb  to  seasickness,  which, 
although  it  did  not  affect  us  as  violently  as  it  did  some  of  the 
other  passengers,  was  sufficiently  unpleasant  to  absorb  all  our 
thoughts.  My  sister-in-law,  being  a  hardened  traveller,  es 
caped,  but  the  negro  girl,  who  acted  as  nurse  for  the  children, 
was  taken  very  badly,  and  between  her  agony  and  her  fright 
she  was  a  most  ludicrous  object. 

In  a  couple  of  days  I  was  well  enough  to  enjoy  myself;  and 
my  brother,  who  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  doctor, 
introduced  him  to  me.  This  gentleman  was  a  fair-haired 
Anglo  Saxon,  and  he  appeared  to  think  it  incumbent  upon  him 
to  pay  me  particular  attention.  I  was  quite  willing  to  culti 
vate  his  acquaintaince,  and  he  was  so  much  encouraged  by 
my  amiable  demeanor  towards  him,  that  he  very  speedily 
began  to  be  even  unpleasantly  polite,  and  I  was  anxious  to 
devise  some  means  of  getting  rid  of  him.  I  did  at  length 
succeed  in  finding  a  rival  to  him  in  a  somewhat  odd  fashion. 

A  COUPLE  OP  HANDSOME  SPANIARDS. 

Among  the  passengers  were  two  quite  handsome  young 
Spaniards,  who  kept  pretty  much  to  themselves,  apparently 
for  the  reason  that  no  one  was  able  to  talk  to  them.  I  no 
ticed  that  one  of  them  followed  me  a  good  deal  with  his  eyes, 
and  resolved,  if  a  favorable  opportunity  offered,  to  strike  up 
an  acquaintance  with  him. 

One  morning,  after  breakfast,  I  and  my  friends  came  up  on 
deck,  and  the  doctor,  who  bad  been  acting  as  my  escort,  ex 
cused  himself  to  go  and  make  his  sick  calls.  The  two  young 
Spaniards  stood  leaning  on  the  guards,  and  from  the  way  they 
looked  at  me  I  judged  that  I  was  the  subject  of  their  conver 
sation. 

Leaving  my  brother  and  his  wife,  I  went  and  seated  myself 
near  them,  but  gave  no  indication  that  I  was  noticing  them 
particularly.  They  had  heard  me  speak  English  to  my  brother 
and  sister,  and  the  others  with  whom  I  had  engaged  in  con 
versation,  and  had  no  reason  to  think  that  I  understood  any 
other  language. 

I  had  scarcely  taken  my  seat,  when  they  commenced  to  talk 
about  me  in  Spanish,  commenting  upon  my  elegant  dress,  and 
the  sparkling  diamonds  which  adorned  my  person,  and  express 
ing  a  desire  to  know  who  I  was.  At  length  one  of  them 
said,  "  0,  how  I  would  like  to  speak  the  American  language  ! 


KEEPING   THE   DOCTOR   AT   A   DISTANCE.  521 

She  is  a  handsome  senorita,  and  evidently  very  rich ;  if  I 
could  converse  with  her  I  would  soon  have  an  introduction." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  I  should  like  to  know  who  she  is." 

"  0,  there  is  something  the  matter  with  me,"  said  the  first, 
putting  his  hand  to  his  breast. 

"  You  are  in  love.  You  had  better  get  somebody  to  act  as 
interpreter  for  you." 

Just  then  the  doctor  came  up  and  interfered  with  my  amuse 
ment.  He  said,  as  he  seated  himself  beside  me,  "  If  it  is  not 
impertinent,  may  I  ask  how  long  you  have  been  a  widow  ?  " 

"  About  two  years,"  I  replied. 

One  of  the  young  Spaniards,  who  could  understand  a  little 
English,  said  to  his  companion,  "  She  is  a  young  widow." 

"  That  makes  no  difference,"  said  the  other. 

I  said  to  the  doctor,  "I  wonder  if  we  can  see  any  fish?" 
and  walked  to  the  side  and  looked  overboard. 

I  stood  quite  close  to  Pablo,  the  young  man  whom  I  sup 
posed  to  be  falling  in  love  with  me,  and  as  we  turned  away, 
after  looking  into  the  water  for  a  few  moments,  1  dropped  my 
handkerchief  on  purpose. 

The  Spaniard  picked  it  up,  and,  touching  my  arm,  handed 
it  to  me,  raising  his  sombrero  politely  as  he  did  so. 

I  smiled,  and  thanked  him  in  his  native  tongue.  It  was 
most  amusing  to  see  the  expression  of  horror  that  overspread 
his  countenance  as  he  heard  me,  and  thus  discovered  that  I 
must  have  understood  the  conversation  he  had  been  holding 
with  his  friend. 

So  soon  as  the  doctor  left  me,  he  advanced,  and,  taking  off 
his  hat,  asked  me  if  I  was  a  Spaniard.  I  replied  that  I  was 
of  Spanish  descent ;  whereupon  he  began  the  most  profuse 
apologies,  and  hoped  that  my  ladyship  was  not  offended  at  the 
remarks  that  had  passed  between  himself  and  friend.  I  said 
that  so  far  from  being  offended,  I  felt  highly  complimented  by 
the  flattering  opinions  that  had  been  expressed  with  regard 
to  me  ;  and  thereupon  the  young  gentleman  and  I  started  a 
flirtation  that  lasted  for  the  .balance  of  the  voyage,  and  that, 
in  addition  to  being  agreeable  enough  in  itself,  had  the  effect 
of  keeping  the  doctor  somewhat  at  a  distance.  He  was  most 
solicitous  for  us  to  visit  Spain,  and  was  not  satisfied  until  he 
extorted  from  my  brother  a  promise  to  do  so. 

This  young  gentleman  continued  his  attentions  to  myself 
after  we  got  to  London ;  and  on  account  of  some  sight-seeing, 
in  which  he  had  planned  to  have  my  company,  he  and  his 


522  A   CONTRAST. 

friend  missed  the  steamer  in  which  they  expected  to  have 
sailed  for  Spain,  and  were  obliged  to  remain  for  a  number  of 
days  beyond  their  appointed  time.  I  do  not  think  that  either 
of  them  regretted  this  very  much.  I  am  sure  one  of  them 
did  not.  My  brother  did  not  like  my  friend  Pablo,  thinking 
him  proud  and  haughty ;  but  this  was  merely  a  Castilian  re 
serve  of  manner,  and  I  thought  it  rather  an  attractive  charac 
teristic  than  otherwise. 

At  length  our  young  Spaniards  left  us,  and  we  began  to 
plan  our  future  movements.  My  brother  was  very  anxious  to 
go  to  the  Continent  immediately.  He  did  not  like  the  English 
climate  or  the  English  people,  saying  that  they  had  always 
been  our  enemies,  and  that  during  the  late  war  they  had  acted 
treacherously  to  both  parties.  The  French,  he  contended, 
were  the  true  friends  of  America,  while  their  beautiful  country 
was  far  better  worth  visiting  than  this  damp,  foggy  England. 

I  had  no  great  preference,  being  willing  to  go  almost  any 
where,  and  consequently,  although  there  was  much  in  England 
that  I  desired  to  see,  acceded  to  my  brother's  wishes  without 
hesitation,  and  consented  to  try  France  first,  and  to  keep 
England  in  reserve,  to,  be  explored  after  we  had  visited  the 
Continent. 

THE  NAVAL  DEPOT  AT  CHERBOURG. 

Crossing  the  Channel,  we  entered  France  at  Cherbourg,  the 

freat  naval  depot.  At  this  place  were  several  vessels  which 
ad  been  negotiated  for  by  the  Confederates,  and  which,  if 
they  could  have  been  obtained,  would  greatly  have  strength 
ened  our  little  navy.  Without  stopping,  however,  to  examine 
these,  or  other  objects  of  interest,  we  speeded  on  to  Paris, 
where  we  took  rooms  at  the  Grand  Hotel. 

We  were  more  fortunate  than  Mark  Twain  represents  him 
self  to  have  been,  and  were  not  bothered  with  guides.  My 
brother  had  been  educated  in  Paris,  while  I  had  seen  a  little 
of  it,  and  we  both  could  speak  French.  My  brother  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  city,  and  he  was  anxious  to  show  his  wife 
and  myself  all  that  was  worth  seeing  in  it.  We  accordingly 
hired  a  handsome  private  livery,  and  prepared  to  enjoy  our 
selves  in  the  best  style. 

The  magnificence  with  which  I  was  surrounded  was  in  great 
contrast  to  what  I  had  been  accustomed  to  in  America,  and  it 
was  difficult  for  me  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  I,  the  elegantly 
attired  woman,  who  was  enjoying,  or  endeavoring  to  enjoy,  the 


THE  PLEASURES  OF  PARIS.  523 

manifold  pleasures  of  Parisian  life,  had  but  a  short  time  before 
been  wearing  a  uniform  of  gray,  and  living  the  roughest  kind 
of  a  life  in  camp  and  on  the  battle-field.  I  could  not  hon 
estly  say  to  myself,  however,  that  I  preferred  the  luxury  and 
splendors  of  the  great  French  capital  to  the  woods  and  fields 
of  my  dear  South  ;  and  I  have  had  as  blissful  sleep,  wrapped  in 
my  soldier's  blanket,  out  under  the  stars,  as  I  could  get  in  the 
most  expensive  apartments  of  the  Grand  Hotel. 

Our  days  and  nights  in  Paris  were  spent  in  sight-seeing, 
theatre-going,  and  in  endeavoring  to  find  all  the  enjoyment 
that  money  could  buy.  We  did  enjoy  ourselves  ;  for  there  is 
no  city  in  the  world  that  is  better  worth  seeing,  or  that  pre 
sents  greater  attractions  to  the  visitor,  than  Paris. 

SIGHT-SEEING  IN  PARIS. 

The  Louvre,  the  Tuileries,  the  Arc  de  PEtoile,  the  ancient 
Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  with  its  grand  architecture  and  its 
many  associations,  with  a  visit  to  the  Jardin  de  Mabille  in  the 
evening,  employed  our  first  day.  It  was  all  very  interesting, 
but  I  could  have  had  greater  satisfaction  in  investigating  into 
matters  that  represented  more  particularly  the  industries  and 
resources  of  the  country.  As  for  the  famous  Mabille,  it  is 
nothing  more  than  a  beer-garden,  while  the  doings  that  are 
permitted  there  and  at  the  Cloiserie  de  Lilas,  are  such  that 
they  are  not  fit  places  for  decent  people  to  visit.  I  was  heart 
ily  disgusted  with  both  of  these  gardens  —  disgusted  with 
what  I  saw,  and  more  disgusted  with  people  who  looked  like 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  gazing  with  approval  and  applause  at 
performances  that  had  no  attractions  except  their  indecency. 

A  drive  on  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  which  was  on  our  pro 
gramme  for  the  next  day,  I  really  enjoyed  greatly,  as  I  did  also 
a  visit  to  the  Lyrique  Theatre,  where  I  saw  finished  acting 
and  elegant  stage  setting,  such  as  I  had  never  been  accus 
tomed  to  in  America.  In  the  course  of  our  stay  in  Paris  we 
visited  nearly  all  the  principal  theatres  ;  and  although  I  never 
was  much  of  a  play- goer,  everything  was  done  in  such  fin 
ished  style  that  it  was  a  real  gratification  to  attend  these  per 
formances. 

The  College  de  France,  where  my  brother  had  been  edu 
cated,  and  the  Medical  School  in  which  he  had  studied, 
interested  him  greatly,  but  I  was  satisfied  with  looking  at 
them  from  the  outside.  I  was  not  curious,  either,  to  visit  the 


524  AT   RHEIMS. 

Catacombs.  My  brother  persuaded  me  to  go  to  this  city  of  the 
dead ;  but  when  about  to  descend  into  the  dark  caverns,  rilled 
with  the  mouldering  remains  of  poor  humanity,  I  shrunk  back, 
and  refused  to  enter.  I  had  too  much  reverence  for  the 
sleepers  to  make  their  last  resting-place  a  resort  for  the 
curious.  I  feared  not  the  dead;  but  to  have  gone  among  these 
skeletons  would  have  revived  memories  of  the  past  that  were 
anything  but  pleasant  ones.  It  made  me  shudder  to  think 
how  many  poor  souls  I  had  seen  launched  into  eternity  with 
out  a  moment's  warning,  some  of  them,  perhaps,  by  my  hand. 
The  idea  of  such  a  thing  was  horrible,  although  in  the  excite 
ment  of  a  great  battle  the  slaughter  that  is  going  on  is  as  little 
thought  of  as  are  the  dangers  to  one's  self. 

THE  EMPEROR  AND  EMPRESS. 

At  the  Invalides  we  saw  the  magnificent  Tomb  of  Napoleon 
I.,  the  most  imposing  monument  that  has,  perhaps,  ever  been 
erected  to  any  monarch.  As  we  were  leaving,  we  were  grat 
ified  with  a  sight  of  the  emperor  and  empress,  who  were 
visiting  the  building.  The  empress  was  a  very  handsome 
woman,  and  looked  as  if  she  was  a  very  amiable  one.  She 
was  dressed  in  a  silk  robe,  of  a  light  lavender  color,  which 
was  very  elaborately  trimmed  with  lace.  Her  bonnet  was 
of  the  same  lavender  tint,  and  was  trimmed  with  white.  A 
pair  of  white  kid  gloves,  and  a  point-lace  scarf  fastened  with 
a  brooch  of  emeralds  and  diamonds,  completed  the  toilet.  The 
emperor  was  in  uniform.  He  was  a  rather  diminutive  man, 
with  a  keen  eye,  and  he  reminded  me  not  a  little  of  General 
Beauregard.  Any  one  who  could  have  seen  the  two,  would 
have  said,  unhesitatingly,  that  they  were  relatives.  v 

Sight-seeing  in  Paris  was  an  agreeable  enough  employment, 
but  I  very  soon  had  enough  of  it,  and  was  not  sorry  to  leave 
for  Rheims,  the  great  wine  mart.  This  city  is  distant  between 
three  and  four  hours  from  Paris  by  the  railroad,  and  is  a  very 
interesting  place,  as  well  because  of  its  historical  associations, 
as  because  it  is  a  great  industrial  centre. 

THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  RHEIMS. 

The  great  cathedral  is  a  magnificent  building,  which  I  took 
particular  pleasure  in  visiting,  for  the  reason  that  in  it  all  the 
old  kings  of  France  were  crowned.  It  was  here  that  Joan  of 


AN  IMPORTANT  INDUSTRY.  595 

Arc  clad  in  full  armor,  and  with  her  consecrated  banner  in 
hand  witnessed  the  coronation  of  the  king  for  whom  she 
fought  so  well,  and  whose  dominion  she  was  mainly  instru 
mental  in  securing.  I  almost  imagined,  as  I  stood  in  the 
cathedral,  that  I  could  behold  the  splendid  scene  that  was 
presented  on  that  occasion. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Rheims,  however,  I  was  of  a 
more  practical  turn  of  mind  than  I  had  been  a  few  years 
before.  The  romance  had  been  pretty  well  knocked  out  of 
me  by  the  rough  experience  of  real  life  ;  and  although  I  was 
better  able  to  appreciate  the  performances  of  Joan  of  Arc  at 
their  true  value,  somehow  they  did  not  interest  me  to  the 
extent  they  once  did.  I  took  more  pleasure  in  watching  the 
processes  of  manufacturing  the  famous  champagne  wines,  and 
in  speculating  as  to  whether  such  a  profitable  industry  could 
not  be  introduced  into  the  United  States. 

WINE  MANUFACTURE. 

I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  wines,  as  fine  in  flavor 
as-  any  of  the  European  brands,  can  be,  and  in  time  will  be, 
made  in  America.  They  will  not  be  the  same,  and  will  have 
a  peculiar  flavor  of  their  own  ;  for  the  flavors  of  wines  depend 
upon  the  soil  where  the  grapes  are  grown  to  such  an  extent 
that  very  different  kinds  are  manufactured  from  grapes  grow 
ing  but  a  short  distance  from  each  other.  Our  American 
wines,  even  if  of  a  somewhat  different  flavor,  ought,  however, 
to  be  just  as  good,  in  their  way,  as  are  the  European.  The 
fact  is,  that  some  of  our  wines  will  already  compare  very 
favorably  with  those  brought  from  abroad.  We  cannot  as 
yet,  however,  produce  anything  equal  to  the  very  finest 
brands ;  but  we  will  do  that  in  time,  when  we  learn  some 
of  the  delicate  points  about  cultivation  and  manufacture 
which  the  Europeans  have  been  for  centuries  acquiring. 
Viniculture  is  a  business  that  is  particularly  well  suited  for 
many  portions  of  our  Southern  States,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  people  may  be  induced  to  take  it  up  much  more 
largely  than  they  have  ever  yet  done. 

In  this  part  of  France   it   is  possible  to  travel  for  miles 
through  a  highly-cultivated  country  and  not  see  the  sign  of  a 
building  of  any  kind.     The  people    congregate  in  small 
lages,  which  is  certainly  more    social  than  living  in  isolated 
farm-houses.     The  houses  in  these  villages  are  mostly  small, 


526  AT   FRANKFORT   ON   THE   MAIN. 

are  built  of  stone,  and  reminded  me  not  a  little  of  some  huts 
in  the  Kaw  Indian  reservation.  They  are  made  very  attrac 
tive,  however,  by  being  surrounded  by  neat  little  gardens, 
filled  with  flowers,  which  are  tended  with  great  care. 

There  was  one  thing  I  saw  in  Rheims  which  pleased  me 
very  much.  It  was  a  troop  of  round,  rosy -faced  girls,  who  came 
running,  laughing,  and  singing,  out  of  a  factory,  at  evening,  as 
full  of  sport  as  if  they  had  been  playing  all  day,  instead  of 
earning  their  bread  and  butter.  They  were  so  fresh  and 
wholesome-looking,  and  apparently  enjoyed  life  so  much,  that 
I  could  not  but  admire  them.  Such  people  as  these  are  the 
real  wealth  of  a  country,  and  it  is  no  wonder  -France  is  rich 
and  prosperous  when  she  has  such  citizens. 

FRANKFORT  AND  ITS  SURROUNDINGS. 

From  Rheims,  we  passed  on,  and  made  a  flying  visit  to 
Homburg,  the  famous  watering-place,  and  from  there  went  to 
Frankfort  on  the  Main.  On  one  side  of  the  city  are  to  be 
seen  the  mountains,  while  on  the  other  extends  a  rich,  fertile 
plain.  I  almost  wished  that  I  was  the  wife  of  one  of  those 
good-natured,  honest,  industrious  German  farmers  we  were 
constantly  meeting,  so  that  I  might  live  and  die  in  a  snug, 
home-like  little  farm-house,  half  hidden  by  the  grain,  and  sur 
rounded  by  flowering  shrubs  and  vines,  such  as  were  to  be 
seen  on  all  sides.  Nowhere  have  I  beheld  more  evidences  of 
solid  comfort  and  downright  good  living  than  in  the  vicinity 
of  Frankfort,  and  there  are  no  people  on  the  earth  happier 
than  these  hard-working  but  contented  Germans,  who  know 
how  to  enjoy  life  in  right  honest  fashion. 

The  small  villages  in  this  section  of  Europe  are  quite 
numerous,  and  the  people  are  disposed  to  be  most  kind  and 
hospitable,  particularly  to  Americans.  We  met  several  per 
sons  who  had  been  in  America,  who  were  apparently  rejoiced 
to  see  us,  and  who  overwhelmed  us  with  invitations  to  visit 
them. 

The  costumes  of  the  working  classes  are  very  odd.  The 
women  wear  muslin  caps,  short  blue  or  white  skirts,  and  shoes 
with  wooden  soles.  The  men  are  attired  in  blue  frocks,  and 
sometimes  in  the  queerest-looking  swallow-tailed  coats  of 
white  and  buff  linen. 

Some  of  the  parks  surrounding  the  mansions  of  the  nobility 
are  very  beautiful,  being  laid  out  with  much  taste,  and  filled 


I 

RETURN  TO   PARIS.  527 

with  deer,  swans,  and  other  animals.  The  zoological  garden 
in  Frankfort  is  much  the  finest  in  Europe,  being  greatly 
superior  in  the  number  and  variety  of  the  animals  to  those 
of  Paris  and  London. 

THE  DESOLATION  OF  POLAND. 

Having  exhausted  the  sights  of  Frankfort,  we  prepared  to 
move  on,  and  there  was  considerable  debate  as  to  whether 
we  should  next  go  to  Italy  or  to  Russia.  I  was  most  anxious 
to  visit  Poland ;  and  so  it  was  finally  determined  that  we 
should  go  there.  I  was  sorry  for  having  taken  this  trip  after 
wards,  for  there  was  nothing  in  Cracow  —  a  city  ruined  and 
desolated  by  war — that  could  give  me  pleasure.  Indeed,  the 
whole  land  looked  as.  if  it  was  under  a  blight.  I  took  advan 
tage,  however,  of  the  occasion  to  renew  my  acquaintance 
with  M.  Koskalosky,  a  young  Pole,  whom  I  had  met  in  Paris 
just  before  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  a  very  pleasant,  cul 
tivated  gentleman,  and  a  sincere  friend  of  the  South.  I  hope 
that  the  time  will  come  when  the  people  of  Poland  will  be 
able  to  regain  their  independence.  They  are  cruelly  op 
pressed  now,  and  their  beautiful  country  is  a  waste  and 
desolation. 

Instead  of  going  to  Italy,  we  now  returned  to  Paris,  having 
seen  much  to  interest  and  delight  us,  but  having,  after  all, 
found  no  country  that  was  the  equal  of  America,  tov/ards 
which  my  heart  turned  with  increasing  fondness  the  longer  I 
was  absent  from  it. 

In  Paris  we  met  Mr.  Dayton,  the  minister  from  the  United 
States,  and  were  quite  cordially  received  by  him.  I  had 
carefully  avoided  going  near  this  gentleman  on  my  former 
visit,  because  I  was  aware  that  he  knew  me,  and  thought  that, 
perhaps,  he  might  bear  me  some  ill  will.  He  was  pleasant 
enough,  however,  and  I  sincerely  regretted  not  having  met 
him  sooner. 

At  the  Hotel  de  Louvre,  where  we  stopped,  there  was  quite 
a  list  of  old  Confederates,  some  of  whom  had  been  my  army 
companions.     I  had  the  advantage  of  them,  for  they  had  only 
known  me  as  Lieutenant  Harry  T.  Buford,  and  they  did  not 
recognize  me  in  female  attire.     Being  extremely  anxiou; 
know  what  they  thought  of  me,  I  obtained  introductions 
most  of  them,  and  began  to  try  and  get  them  to  commit 
selves. 


528  THE   REAL    OPINIONS   OF    OLD   FRIENDS. 

Colonel  M.  was  the  first  one  I  spoke  to  on  this  delicate 
subject.  After  inquiring  about  the  condition  of  affairs  in 
America,  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  had  become  of  that 
female  officer  who  figured  so  extensively  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  war. 

"  0,"  said  the  colonel,  "  I  knew  her  very  well.  She  was 
in  my  corps  for  a  time,  but  afterwards  she  went  West,  and  I 
do  not  know  how  she  finished  her  career." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  her  ?  " 

"  She  is  a  very  fine  woman,  and  made  a  good  officer.  She 
was  very  popular  indeed."  ^ 

"  Do  you  think  that  it  was  proper  for  a  woman  to  do  as  she 
did?" 

"  Well,  no,  not  exactly ;  but  she  did  so  much  good  for  the 
cause,  that  she  can  well  be  excused.  If  the  men  had  all  been 
as  plucky,  things  would  have  turned  out  very  different.  She 
always  bore  an  excellent  name,  and  I  would  fight  for  her  in  a 
moment  if  I  heard  any  one  traducing  her.  I  would  like  very 
much  to  see  her  again,  and  would  be  willing  to  travel  all 
the  way  back  to  America  to  have  that  pleasure." 

The  reader  may  imagine  the  sensations  of  pleasure  which 
this  enthusiastic  opinion  of  myself  caused  me.  I  was  aching 
to  tell  him  who  I  was,  but  there  were  others  whom  I  desired 
to  question,  and  so  concluded  to  preserve  my  secret  a  little 
longer. 

While  I  was  talking  with  Colonel  M.,  a  servant  in  livery 
appeared,  with  a  card  on  a  silver  waiter,  from  Colonel  D.  and 
Major  C.  I  did  not  recognize  the  names,  but  said  I  would 
receive  them,  and  so  shook  hands  with  Colonel  M.?  giving  him 
a  hearty  request  to  call  on  me  again. 

The  two  gentlemen  appeared,  and  the  colonel  said,  "  You 
do  not  appear  to  remember  me." 

"  No,  sir,"  I  replied.  "  I  think  I  recollect  your  face,  but  I 
cannot  recall  where  I  have  met  you." 

"  Do  you  not  recollect  meeting  me  in  Cuba,  at  So-and-so's 
house?" 

"  0,  certainly,  I  do ;  I  must  ask  that  you  will  excuse  my 
forgetfulness." 

"  I  was  looking  over  the  list  of  arrivals,  and  seeing  your 
name,  thought  that  I  would  take  the  liberty  of  calling  to 
inquire  after  your  health." 

I  asked  whether  he  had  met  my  brother's  family;  and  on  his 
saying  that  he  had  not,  I  conducted  him  and  his  friend  to  their 


LONDON  AND   MANCHESTER.  529 

parlor.  _  Leaving  the  major  for  my  brother  and  his  wife  to 
entertain,  I  took  the  colonel  to  a  remote  part  of  the  room  and 
after  some  preliminary  conversation,  asked  him  the  same  ques 
tions  that  I  had  Colonel  M.  , 

He  expressed  admiration  of  my  valor,  but  was  BO  bitter 
m  denouncing  me  for  assuming  male  attire,  that  I  was  thor 
oughly  disgusted  with  him. 

^  A  few  days  after  this,  I  returned  with  my  brother  and 
family  to  London,  and  immediately  on  my  arrival  in  that  city 
wrote  two  letters,  one  to  Colonel  M.  and  the  other  to  Colonel 
D.,  telling  them  who  I  was.  Colonel  M.  replied,  expressing 

freat  gratification  at  having  met  me, and  a  wish  that  I  had  made 
nown  to  him  that  I  was  the  heroine  of  whom  he  had  such  a 
decided  admiration.  Colonel  D.  did  not  reply ;  but  his  friend 
Major  C.  wrote  me  a  letter  in  French,  in  which  he  endeavored 
to  apologize  for  him,  and  expressed  a  wish,  for  his  own  sake, 
that  I  would  return  to  Paris,  as  he  was  anxious  to  be  better 
acquainted  with  a  lady  who  had  performed  so  many  valorous 
exploits. 

A  BRIEF  VISIT  TO  LONDON. 

We  remained  about  fifteen  days  in  London,  stopping  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  Mr.  T.,  a  right  jolly  fellow,  who  had 
resided  in  England  for  many  years.  Shortly  after  our  arrival 
we  visited  Hyde  Park,  a  very  beautiful  pleasure-ground,  but 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  Parisian  parks.  This  event  was 
a  source  of  much  gratification  to  me,  as  it  gave  me  an  oppor 
tunity  to  see  her  majesty  Queen  Victoria,  who  drove  by  in  a 
carriage  with  six  horses.  For  this  lady  I  always  had  a  great 
admiration,  esteeming  her  a  model  queen  and  a  model  mother. 
She  was  dressed  with  great  neatness  and  simplicity,  and  there 
was  nothing  showy  or  ostentatious  about  her. 

From  London  we  went  to  Manchester,  and  I  was  interested 
in  the  great  mills  and  factories,  and  in  a  grand  cattle  show 
which  was  in  progress.  With  the  display  of  fine  blooded 
animals  I  was  especially  delighted.  Notwithstanding,  how 
ever,  that  there  was  so  much  to  see  and  to  occupy  my  atten 
tion,  I  was  by  this  time  getting  homesick,  and  my  eyes  were 
frequently  cast  longingly  westward.  I  was  impatient  to 
return  to  America,  and  my  brother  was  equally  so ;  and  con 
sequently,  ere  long,  we  were  once  more  standing  on  the  deck 
of  a  vessel  homeward  bound,  for,  after  all,  it  was  imposs; 
ble  for  us  to  think*  of  America  but  as  our  home. 
34 


530  HOME   AGAIN. 

Our  decision  to  return,  however,  was  far  from  pleasing  to 
my  sister-in-law,  who  desired  to  reside  in  Spain.  She  blamed 
me  for  influencing  my  brother  contrary  to  her  wishes,  and  was 
jealous  of  my  affection  for  him.  The  result  was,  that  a  cool 
ness  sprang  up  between  us  that  made  our  intercourse  with 
each  other  anything  but  a  pleasure  to  either. 

On  our  arrival  in  New  York,  my  brother  was  persuaded 
by  his  wife  1^  go  to  Mexico,  where  her  sister  resided.  I 
was  not  willing  to  go  with  them ;  and  the  result  was,  that 
we  parted  company,  with  many  regrets  on  my  side,  at  the 
prospect  of  a  long  separation  from  a  brother  whom  I  loved 
dearer  than  myself,  and  with  whom  I  had  only  recently  been 
reunited,  after  having  scarcely  seen  each  other  during  many 
years. 

It  could  not  be  helped,  however,  and  I  felt  that  it  was  best 
he  should  go  with  his  wife  and  children,  leaving  me  to  make 
my  own  way  in  the  world,  as  I  had  been  doing  for  so  long  a 
time.  When  they  were  once  off,  I  turned  my  attention  to  my 
own  affairs,  and  began  to  make  plans  for  the  future.  Before 
determining,  however,  on  any  particular  course,  I  concluded 
that  I  would  make  a  trip  through  the  South,  for  the  purpose 
of  observing  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  of  finding  out 
whether  there  was  anything  I  could  do  to  advance  the  interest 
of  the  people  among  whom  my  lot  had  been  cast  for  so  many 
years,  and  who  were  endeared  to  me  by  so  many  of  the  strong 
est  ties. 


CHAPTER   XLVI. 

SOUTH  AMERICAN  EXPEDITION. 

A  Southern  Tour.  —Visit  to  Baltimore  and  Washington.  -  The  Desola 
tions  of  War  as  Visible  in  Richmond,  Columbia,  and  Charlotte  -A 
Race  with  a  Federal  Officer  at  Charleston.  -  Meeting  with  old  Friends 
at  Atlanta.  — A  Surprise  for  one  of  them.  —  Travelling  over  my  old 
Campaigning  Ground.  —  The  forlorn  Appearance  of  Things  in  New 
Orleans.  —  Emigration  Projects.  —  I  make  some  Investigation  into  them 
and  decide  to  go  to  South  America  for  the  Purpose  of  lookin^  at  the 
Country,  and  reporting  to  my  Friends.  —  The  Venezuelan  Expedition 
and  its  Projector.  —  I  suspect  that  it  is  a  mere  Speculation,  but  conclude 
to  accompany  it. —My  third  Marriage.— I  endeavor  to  persuade  my 
Husband  to  seek  a  Home  in  the  Far- West,  but  on  his  Refusal,  sail  with 
him  for  Venezuela.  —  Forty-nine  Persons  packed  in  a  small  Schooner 
with  no  Conveniences,  and  with  scanty  Provisions.  —  A  horrible  Voyage. 
—  Sighting  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Orinoco. 

FTER  the  departure  of  my  brother  and  his  fam 
ily,  I  started  for  the  South.  My  first  stopping- 
place  was  Baltimore,  where  I  met  many  old 
friends,  who  expressed  themselves  as  very  glad 
to  see  me  again,  but  who  represented  the  con 
dition  of  things  at  the  South  as  most  deplorable. 
What  I  learned  from  them  made  me  more  than  ever 
resolved  to  continue  my  journey;  for,  although  the 
war  was  over,  I  was  still  anxious  to  do  something,  so 
far  as  my  power  extended,  for  the  Southern  people.  I  accor 
dingly  announced  my  intention  of  making  a  tour  through 
the  late  Confederacy,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  for  myself 
exactly  what  the  situation  really  was ;  but  preferred  first  to 
go  to  Washington,  with  a  view  of  consulting  certain  persons 
there. 

I  was  advised,  in  the  strongest  manner,  not  to  visit  Wash 
ington  at  this  time,  and  was  assured  that  it  would  be  a  very 
perilous  thing  to  do.  Naturally  a  little  obstinate  and  self- 
willed,  the  opposition  of  my  friends  only  made  me  the  more 
desirous  of  carrying  out  my  original  intention,  no  matter  what 

531 


532  THE    RAVAGES   OF   WAR. 

the  hazard  might  be.  To  Washington,  accordingly,  I  proceeded, 
and  called  on  some  acquaintances,  who  received  me  with  the 
utmost  cordiality. 

The  person  whom  I  particularly  wished  to  see  —  an  official 
in  the  war  department  —  had,  however,  gone  South.  My  friend 
Colonel  Baker  was  also  out  of  the  city.  I  did  not  know 
whether  to  congratulate  myself  or  not  at  missing  a  meeting 
with  him.  I  was  resolved,  on  going  to  Washington,  not  to 
fight  shy  of  him,  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to  pay  off 
old  scores  if  he  wished.  Baker  was  certainly  the  person  of 
all  others  who  had  a  right  to  have  a  grudge  against  me,  and 
yet  I  had  an  ardent  desire  to  meet  him  again,  just  to  hear 
what  he  would  have  to  say  about  the  tricks  I  so  successfully 
played  upon  him.  As  the  colonel  was  out  of  the  city,  how 
ever,  I  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  exchanging  notes  with 
him,  and  I  do  not  know  to  this  day  whether  he  ever  discov 
ered  that  I  was  a  Confederate  secret-service  agent. 

Finding  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  in  Washington, 
I  went  on  to  Richmond,  where  I  took  up  my  quarters  at  the 
Exchange  Hotel.  The  news  of  my  arrival  soon  spread  around, 
and  I  received  ample  attentions  from  many  old  Confederate 
friends,  who  seemed  disposed  to  treat  me  with  all  possible 
kindness. 

RICHMOND  AFTER  THE  WAR. 

The  Richmond  I  beheld,  however,  was  a  very  different 
place  from  the  beautiful  city  I  had  visited  for  the  first  time  in 
the  summer  of  1861,  just  before  the  batte  of  Bull  Run.  A 
four  years'  siege,  ending  in  a  fire  which  had  consumed  a  large 
portion  of  the  city,  had  destroyed  its  beauty  as  well  as  its 
prosperity,  while  the  inhabitants  wore  such  forlorn  faces  that 
I  felt  sick  at  heart  at  beholding  them. 

I  hastened  away,  therefore,  and  passed  through  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  and  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  where  the  same 
dismal  changes  were  visible.  Charleston  was  badly  battered 
and  burned,  but  was  not  in  quite  as  bad  a  plight  as  the  other 
places  named.  The  finest  portion  of  the  city  was  destroyed, 
however,  and  it  looked  very  desolate. 

I  went  to  the  Charleston  Hotel,  where  I  met  an  old  friend 
from  Columbia,  who  invited  me  to  accompany  him  and  some 
others  on  an  excursion.  His  married  daughter,  and  several 
intimate  acquaintances,  who  were  of  the  party,  were  intro 
duced  to  me,  among  them  a  Yankee  captain,  who  had  married 


AN   INVITATION  TO   RIDE.  533 

a  fair  daughter  of  South  Carolina,  who,  with  all  her  relates 
were  strong  secessionists. 

This  officer  attached  himself  particularly  to  me,  and  urged 
me  to  give  my  views  about  the  war,  and  the  present  condi 
tion  of  affairs,  in  the  way  of  an  argument  with  him.  We 
accordingly  had  a  very  animated  conversation  for  some  time, 
and  he  was  obliged,  finally,  to  retire  from  the  contest,  saying, 
that  he  could  not  quarrel  with  me  as  I  was  a  lady,  and,  more 
over,  had  everybody  on  my  side.  I  did  not  think  him  a  very 
brilliant  genius,  but  he  was  quite  a  good  fellow  in  his  way, 
and  to  show  that  there  were  no  hard  feelings  between  us,  we 
shook  hands,  and  declared  ourselves  friends. 

The  next  day  one  of  the  officers  had  the  audacity  to  call 
on  me  simply  out  of  curiosity.  He  had  heard  about  my  serv 
ing  in  the  Confederate  army  in  male  attire,  and  he  wished  to 
see  what  kind  of  a  looking  woman  I  was.  I  thought  it  a 
rather  impudent  proceeding,  but  concluded  to  gratify  him.  I 
accordingly  walked  into  the  drawing-room  where  he  was,  and 
after  some  little  conversation,  which  was  conducted  with, con 
siderable  coolness  on  my  side,  he  invited  me  to  take  a  ride 
with  .him. 

I  was  astounded  that  he  should  make  such  a  proposition, 
knowing  who  I  was,  and  I  being  where  I  was,  surrounded  by 
the  friends  of  the  cause  I  had  served,  while  he,  of  course, 
expected  to  figure  in  his  Federal  uniform  by  my  side. 

I  scarcely  knew  what  to  say ;  but  finally  told  him  that  I 
could  not  go,  as  I  had  an  engagement.  ^  This,  however,  was  a 
mere  pretence,  and  was  intended  to  gain  time  for  consultation 
with  my  friends.  Some  of  these,  however,  suggested  that  I 
should  accept  the  invitation,  and  give  him  a  genuine  specimen 
of  my  abilities  as  a  horsewoman. 

A  TRIAL  OF  EQUESTRIAN  SKILL. 

I  accordingly  went  to  every  livery  stable  in  the  city,  until 
I  at  length  found  a  very  swift  horse,  that  I  thought  would  suit 
my  purpose.     This  being  secured,  I  wrote  a  challenge  for  him 
to  ride  a  race  with  me.     We  were  to  ride  down  the  mam 
street.     He,  without  being  aware  of  what  was  on  foot,  ac 
cepted  ;  and  the  next  afternoon,  therefore,  we  mounte 
steeds  and  started.     When  we  arrived  at  the  appointed  place, 
I  said,  «  Let  us  show  these  people  what  good  equestrians 
are." 


534  A   GOOD   JOKE. 

He  gave  his  horse  a  lash,  but  I  reined  mine  in,  telling  him 
that  I  would  give  him  twenty  feet.  When  he  had  this  dis 
tance,  I  gave  my  steed  a  cut  with  the  whip,  and  flew  past  my 
cavalier  like  the  wind,  saying,  loud  enough  for  every  one  to 
hear  me,  "  This  is  the  way  we  caught  you  at  Blackburn's  Ford 
and  Bull  Run." 

This  was  enough  for  him ;  and  turning  his  horse,  he  rode  back 
to  the  hotel,  to  find  that  a  large  party  there  were  interested  in 
the  race,  and  that  there  were  some  heavy  bets  on  the  result, 
the  odds  being  all  against  him.  This  gentleman,  apparently, 
did  not  desire  to  continue  his  acquaintance  with  me,  for  I  saw 
no  more  of  him. 

A  few  days  after  this  occurrence  I  said  farewell  to  my  Charles 
ton  friends,  and  went  to  Atlanta,  were  I  was  very  warmly 
received.  The  surgeons  who  had  been  attached  to  the  hospi 
tal,  and  many  others,  called,  and  a  disposition  to  show  me  every 
attention  was  manifested  on  all  sides. 

The  Federal  General  Wallace  and  his  staff  were  stopping  at 
the  same  hotel  as  myself,  as  was  also  Captain  B.,  one  of  the 
officers  whom  I  had  met  in  Washington,  and  whom  I  had  used 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  acquainted,  and  of  furthering  my 
plans  in  that  city.  I  met  this  gentleman  in  the  hall,  and  passed 
friendly  greetings  with  him,  and  shortly  after  he  came  into  the 
parlor  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  friendly  chat.  The  captain, 
up  to  this  time,  had  never  suspected  in  the  least  that  I  was 
not,  and  had  not  been,  an  adherent  of  the  Federal  cause  ;  and 
not  supposing  that  I  had  any  special  interest  in  the  war,  our 
conversation  turned  chiefly  upon  other  topics.  I  knew  that 
he  must  shortly  be  undeceived,  but  I  did  not  care  to  tell  him 
about  the  part  I  had  taken  in  the  contest,  or  the  advantages  I 
had  taken  of  his  acquaintance  with  me. 

UNDECEIVED. 

While  we  were  talking,  Confederate  General  G.  T.  Ander 
son  came  in,  and  called  me  "  Lieutenant."  The  astonishment 
of  the  captain  was  ludicrous.  He  could  not  understand  what 
the  general  meant  at  first,  and  thought  it  was  a  joke.  The 
truth,  however,  came  out  at  last,  and  he  learned  not  only  that 
I  was  a  rebel,  but  that  when  I  met  him  in  Washington  I  was 
endeavoring  to  gain  information  for  the  Confederates. 

The  captain,  being  somewhat  bewildered,  took  his  depart 
ure  soon  after,  and  at  the  invitation  of  General  Anderson,  I 


A  PITIABLE   CONDITION   OP   AFFAIRS.  535 

went  out  to  visit  the  intrenchments.  When  we  got  back  I 
found  that  General  Wallace  had  been  informed  as  to  who  I 
was,  and  that  he  was  anxious  to  see  me.  I  said  that  I  would 
be  very  glad  to  meet  him  ;  and  the  general,  and  a  number  of 
bis  officers,  accordingly  came  into  the  parlor  to  see  me.  Gen- 
eral  Wallace  was  very  pleasant;  and,  as  we  shook  hands,  he 
complimented  me,  with  much  heartiness,  upon  having  played  a 
difficult  part  so  long  and  so  well,  and  with  having  distin 
guished  myself  by  my  valor.  I  thanked  him  very  sincerely 
for  his  good  opinion  of  me,  and  then  fell  into  a  lively  conver 
sation  with  him  and  his  officers. 

One  of  the  officers  asked  me  to  ride  with  him ;  but  I  begged 
to  be  excused,  as  I  did  not  think  it  would  look  well,  especial 
ly  in  Atlanta,  where  everybody  knew  me,  to  be  seen  riding 
out  with  an  escort  wearing  a  Federal  uniform.  He  under 
stood  and  appreciated  my  feelings  on  the  subject,  and  said  no 
more  about  it. 

The  next  evening  I  started  for  New  Orleans,  and  passed 
over  a  good  deal  of  my  old  campaigning .  ground  before  I 
reached  my  destination.. 

My  journey  through  the  South  had  disclosed  a  pitiable  state 
of  things.  The  men  of  intellect,  and  the  true  representatives 
of  Southern  interests,  were  disfranchised  and  impoverished, 
while  the  management  of  affairs  was  in  the  hands  of  ignorant 
negroes,  just  relieved  from  slavery,  and  white  "  carpet-bag 
gers,"  who  had  come  to  prey  upon  the  desolation  of  the  coun 
try.  On  every  side  were  ruin  and  poverty  ;  on  every  side  dis 
gust  of  the  present,,  and  despair  of  .the  future.  The  people, 
many  of  them,  absolutely  did  not  know  what  to  do  ;^  and  it  is 
no  wonder,  that  at  this  dismal  time,  certain  ill-advised  emi 
gration  schemes  found  countenance  with  those  who  saw  no 
hope  for  themselves  or  their  children  but  either  to  go  out  of 
the  country,  or  to  remove  so  far  away  from  their  old  homes  that 
they  would  be  able  to  start  life  anew  under  better  auspices 
than  were  then  possible  within  the  limits  of  the  late  Confed 
eracy. 

THE  DESOLATION  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

New  Orleans,  once  a  great,  wealthy,  and  populous  city,  was 
in  a  pitiful  plight.     The  pedestal  of  Jackson's  statue,  in  t 
public  square,  was  disfigured  by  inscriptions  such  as  1 
who  erected  it  never  intended  should  go  there  which  wei 
cut  during  the  occupancy  of  the  Federal  army,  while  t 


536  EMIGRATION  SCHEMES. 

pretty  flower-beds  were  now  nothing  but  masses  of  weeds 
and  dead  stalks.  / 

Along  the  levee  matters  were  even  worse.  Instead  of  for 
ests  of  masts,  or  the  innumerable  chimneys  of  the  steamboats, 
belching  forth  volumes  of  smoke,  or  huge  barricades  of  cot 
ton,  sugar,  and  other  produce,  or  thousands  of  drays,  carts, 
and  other  vehicles,  such  as  thronged  the  levee  in  olden  times, 
the  wharves  were  now  silent,  and  served  merely  as  prom 
enades  for  motley  groups  of  poor  men,  women,  and  children, 
who  looked  as  if  they  did  not  know  where  the  next  meal  was 
to  come  from. 

The  desolation  of  the  great  city  sickened  me,  and  I  was  the 
more  indignant  at  what  I  saw,  for  I  knew  that  this  general 
prostration  of  business,  and  impoverishment  of  all  classes, 
was  not  one  of  the  legitimate  results  of  warfare,  but  that  am 
bitious  and  unscrupulous  politicians  were  making  use  of  the 
forlorn  condition  of  the  South  for  the  furtherance  of  their  own 
bad  ends. 

I  longed  to  quit  the  scene  of  so  much  misery,  and  fully 
sympathized  with  those  who  preferred  to  fly  from  the  country 
of  their  birth,  and  to  seek  homes  in  other  lands,  rather  than 
to  remain  and  be  victimized,  as  they  were  being,  by  the 
wretches  who  had  usurped  all  control  of  the  affairs  of  the  late 
rebel  states. 

FLYING  FROM  THE  COUNTRY. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  condition  of  mind  and  pocket 
which  a  great  many  people  were  in,  a  number  of  emigration 
schemes  were  started,  most  of  them,  I  am  confident,  by  swin 
dlers.  Many  persons  were  so  anxious  to  get  away,  that  they 
did  not  exercise  even  common  prudence  in  investigating  the 
facilities  that  were  offered  them,  and  the  result  was,  that  they 
'did  much  worse  than  if  they  had  remained.  The  sufferings 
endured  by  some  of  these  emigrants  cannot  be  estimated,  and 
the  story  of  their  attempts  to  find  homes  for  themselves  and 
their  children  in  some  land  where  they  could  live  in  peace 
and  quietness,  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labor  without  fear 
of  being  plundered,  is  one  of  the  saddest  and  dreariest  pages 
in  the  history  of  the  country. 

I  was  much  interested  in  these  emigration  schemes  when  I 
first  heard  of  them,  and  was  extremely  anxious  to  investigate 
them,  for  my  own  sake  as  well  as  for  that  of  my  suffering 
-fellow-country  people  of  the  South.  Venezuela  was  one  of 


THE   VENEZUELAN   PROJECT.  537 

the  countries  which  it  was  proposed  to  colonize,  and  repre 
sentations  were  made,  to  the  effect  that  the  Venezuelan  gov 
ernment  would  extend  a  cordial  welcome  to  emigrants,  and 
would  aid  them  in  establishing  themselves. 

I  consulted  with  a  number  of  wise  and  prudent  men  with 
regard  to  this  Venezuelan  project,  but  did  not  get  much  en 
couragement  from  them.  They  said  that  they  would  prefer 
to  see  the  country  for  themselves,  and  to  find  out  exactly 
what  the  government  was  willing  to  do,  before  they  would 
care  to  invest  any  money.  They  thought  that  the  country 
was  rich  and  fertile,  but  that  many  of  the  reports  about  it 
were  palpably  exaggerations,  having  been  gotten  up  in  the 
interests  of  speculators.  It  would  consequently  not  be  a  pru 
dent  thing  for  any  one  to  emigrate  there,  unless  some  trust 
worthy  person  should  undertake  to  go  and  see  what  was  to  be 
seen,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  strictly  truthful  report. 

I  PROPOSE  TO  VISIT  VENEZUELA. 

I  accordingly  informed  my  friends  that  I  would  go  and  see 
for  myself,  and  would  certainly  bring  back  such  an  account  as 
could  be  relied  upon. 

It  having  been  announced  that  I  intended  to  go  to  Venezu 
ela,  I  was  called  upon  at  the  City  Hotel,  where  I  had  my 
quarters,  by  Captain  Fred.  A.  Johnston,  who  was  fitting  out 
an  expedition.  He  gave  me  a  most  glowing  account  of  the 
country,  describing  it  as  a  perfect  paradise,  although  I  speed 
ily  judged,  from  his  conversation,  that  he  knew  nothing  about 
it,  except  from  hearsay. 

I  had  no  difficulty  in  reading  Captain  Johnston's  character, 
and  what  I  saw  of  him  subsequently  only  confirmed  my  first 
impressions.  He  was  a  nervous,  excitable  man,  with  more 
bombast  than  true  enterprise.  He  was  anxious  to  make 
money,  and  to  make  it  very  quick,  and  was  consequently  not 
particularly  scrupulous  about  the  means.  He  had  a  tolerably 
good  education,  but  was  not  smart  enough  to  put  it  to  good 
use,  and  he  was  always  engaged  in  some  wild  speculation  or 
other,  but  never  could  accomplish  anything.  He  was  a  plau 
sible  man,  however,  and  a  gqod  talker,  and,  considering  nov 
many  people  felt  at  the  time,  it  was  no  wonder  a  numbe 
deceived  by  him. 

After  a  long  conversation  with  Johnston,  I  made 
mind  to  go  with  him,  and  in  the  mean  time  secretly  advis 


538  IN  PEKPLEXITY. 

my  friends  not  to  put  any  money  in  his  or  any  other  expedi 
tion  until  they  heard  from  me.  I  was  visited  by  a  number  of 
persons,  who,  on  being  informed  that  I  proposed  to  go  with 
Johnston's  expedition,  said,  in  effect,  "  We  will  depend  upon 
the  report  you  make  as  to  the  climate  and  the  country,  for 
we  have  families  to  support,  and  we  do  not  want  to  run  the 
risk  of  going  to  a  foreign  land,  about  which  we  know  abso 
lutely  nothing."  I  promised  to  make  a  faithful  report,  and 
took  care  to  say  nothing  to  Johnston,  or  others  interested  in 
the  manner  he  was,  about  what  my  intentions  were,  or  about 
my  discouraging  other  people  from  emigrating. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  VOYAGE. 

I  commenced  making  my  preparations,  and  Johnston,  who 
was  apparently  beginning  to  consider  me  a  valuable  ally, 
came  and  invited  me  to  go  over  to  Algiers,  across  the  river 
from  New  Orleans,  with  him,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the 
others  who  were  going.  I  found  a  number  of  proposed  emi 
grants  at  Algiers,  who  were  waiting  for  the  vessel  which  was 
to  convey  them  to  their  new  homes.  They  all  seemed  to 
be  in  a  cheerful  mood,  and  well  satisfied  at  the  prospect  of 
speedily  getting  away  from  a  land  where  there  was  so  much 
suffering. 

A  meeting  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  consultation  with 
regard  to  chartering  a  vessel  and  arranging  for  supplies,  and 
Johnston  greatly  desired  me  to  deliver  an  address.  This  I 
declined  to  do ;  but  I  took  occasion  to  say,  that  while  it  might 
be  well  enough  for  single  men  to  engage  in  an  enterprise  of 
this  kind,  it  was,  in  my  opinion,  rather  too  risky  a  thing  for 
those  who  had  families  dependent  upon  them. 

After  my  return  to  the  city  I  reviewed  the  situation  in  my 
mind  more  clearly  than  I  had  hitherto  done.  I  was  becoming 
less  and  less  satisfied  with  the  way  things  looked,  and  could 
not  help  asking  myself,  Why  should  I  make  any  attempt  to 
leave  the  country  I  had  fought  for,  and  give  it  up  to  the  car 
pet-baggers  and  negroes?  or  why  should  I  interest  myself  in 
such  an  enterprise  as  this  one  of  Johnston's,  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  gaining  information  for  people  whose  duty  it  was 
to  look  out  for  themselves  ?  I  called,  in  my  perplexity,  on  an 
old  gentleman  who  had  been  a  good  deal  in  California,  and 
asked  his  opinion  of  the  Pacific  slope,  and  of  the  advisability 
of  those  who  wished  to  emigrate  from  the  South  going  there. 


A   MARRIAGE   PROPOSAL.  539 

He  said  that  there  was  not  a  country  in  the  world  equal  to 
California,  and  it  would  be  vastly  better  for  those  who  wanted 
to  find  new  homes  to  find  them  there,  or  in  some  other  portion 
of  the  far  west,  rather  than  to  go  to  South  America.  As  for 
Johnston,  he  said  that  he  would  not  take  his  own  family  to 
Venezuela  until  he  had  looked  at  the  country  himself,  and  it 
was  doubtful  whether  he  would  then. 

The  poor  people  whom  Johnston  had  enlisted  in  his 
scheme,  however,  had  their  hearts  set  upon  going  to  Venezu 
ela,  and  nowhere  else;  and  though  my  heart  ached  at  the 
disappointment,  and  perhaps  severe  suffering  that  was  in  store 
for  them,  I  saw  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  turn  them 
from  their  purpose.  They  had  their  new  homes  all  pictured 
in  their  imaginations,  and  Venezuela  appeared  to  them  like  a 
second  Garden  of  Eden,  where  all  was  peace,  happiness,  and 
prosperity,  with  no  free  negroes  or  carpet-baggers  to  intrude 
upon  them. 

Many  of  this  band  of  emigrants  were  most* estimable  peo 
ple  ;  but,  as  I  speedily  discovered,  there  were  some  worthless 
ones  among  them,  and  I  dreaded,  more  and  more,  the  execu 
tion  of  the  task  I  had  set  myself  to  do.  Having,  however, 
announced  my  intention  of  going,  and  having  excited  the 
expectations  of  my  friends,  I  concluded  that  it  would  not  do 
to  back  out,  and  so  determined  to  go  through  with  the  thing, 
no  matter  what  the  consequences  might  be. 

Among  the  emigrants  who  had  enlisted  in  Johnston's  band 
was  a  young  Confederate  officer,  Major  Wasson.  He  was  a 
remarkably  fine-looking  man,  with  long,  wavy,  flaxen  hair, 
which  he  wore  brushed  off  his  forehead,  blue  eyes,  and  fair 
complexion.  The  day  before  going  over  to  Algiers  with 
Johnston  I  had  seen  him  on  one  of  the  street  cars,  and  was 
very  much  struck  with  him.  At  Algiers  I  had  some  conver 
sation  with  him,  and  invited  him  to  call  on  me  at  the  hotel. 
This  he  did ;  and  I  discovered  that  he  was  a  stranger  to  all  the 
rest  of  the  band  of  emigrants,  that  he  was  anxious  to  get  out 
of  the  country,  and  that,  attracted  by  Johnston's  representa 
tions,  he  had  resolved  to  go  to  Venezuela  with  his  expedition. 

After  that  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  Major  Wasson,  and  a  strong 
attachment  sprang  up  between  us.     A  few  days  before  we 
were  to  sail,  he  asked  me  to  accept  his  hand,  and  I  did  so  will 
ingly ;  for  not  only  did  I  admire  him  greatly,  but  I 
it  would  be  better  in  every  way  that  I  should  accompany  the 
expedition  as  a  married  woman. 


540  MARRIAGE. 

We  were  accordingly  married,  and  for  some  days  kept  the 
matter  secret,  it  being  our  original  intention  not  to  say  any 
thing  about  it  until  alter  we  were  out  at  sea.  As  I  was,  how 
ever,  pursued  by  the  attentions  of  several  other  gentlemen, 
we  finally  concluded  that  the  fact  of  our  being  husband  and 
wife  had  best  be  announced. 

A  small  schooner  was  finally  procured,  and  preparations  for 
our  departure  were  pushed  rapidly  forward.  Just  as  we 
were  on  the  point  of  sailing,  however,  the  owners  of  the  ves 
sel,  who  had  not  received  their  money  for  her,  attempted  to 
regain  possession.  We  were  all  arrested,  therefore,  but  after 
a  long  investigation  of  the  case,  were  released,  and  the 
schooner  delivered  into  our  hands.  This  was  a  disagreeable 
and  discouraging  commencement,  but  it  would  have  been 
well  for  the  entire  party  had  it  been  the  worst  misadventure 
that  befell  us. 

As  the  time,  for  departure  drew  near,  I  lost  confidence  in 
Johnston  more  and  more,  and  almost  at  the  last  moment  en 
deavored  to  persuade  my  husband  to  refrain  from  embarking, 
suggesting  that  we  should  seek  a  home  somewhere  in  the 
West.  He,  however,  was  resolved  to  go,  and  I  yielded  my 
better  judgment  to  his  wishes,  and  went  aboard,  very  much 
against  my  inclination. 

SAILING  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 

The  expedition  consisted  of  forty-nine  persons,  including 
children,  all  of  whom  were  stowed  away  in  the  hull  of  a  small 
schooner,  without  regard  to  decency,  and  without  many  of 
the  necessities  of  life.  I  did  not  find  out  how  badly  provided 
we  were  for  a  voyage  until  after  we  were  at  sea ;  but  when 
I  did  discover  what  treatment  was  in  store  for  us,  I  was  boil 
ing  with  indignation.  There  were  no  conveniences  of  any 
kind ;  scarcely  provisions  enough  to  sustain  life ;  the  water 
was  foul,  from  the  impure  barrels  in  which  it  had  been  placed ; 
while  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  persons  on  board  was  an 
outrage  on  the  very  name  of  decency.  Our  diet  was  beans 
and  hard  tack  for  breakfast,  the  same  for  dinner,  with  the 
addition  of  duff  for  dessert ;  and  this  bill  of  fare  was  repeated, 
day  after  day,  until  we  entered  the  River  Orinoco. 

It  was  a  terrible  voyage ;  and,  although  I  had  passed 
through  some  rather  rough  experiences  in  my  time,  and  was 
accustomed  to  hardships,  it  will  always  live  in  my  memory  as 


AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  ORINOCO.          541 

one  of  my  most  painful  experiences.  My  sufferings,  however, 
were  nothing  in  comparison  with  those  of  some  of  the  poor 
women  and  children  who  were  with  us,  and  I  was  indignant, 
beyond  expression,  at  the  idea  of  their  being  victimized  in 
the  manner  they  were. 

At  length,  after  a  cruise  that,  brief  as  it  was,  was  fast  be 
coming  intolerable,  we  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  and 
the  despairing  band  of  emigrants  began  to  pluck  up  their 
spirits,  for  now  they  were  fairly  in  sight  of  the  paradise  which 
had  been  promised  them. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

VENEZUELA. 

Taking  a  Pilot  on  Board.  —  A  perplexing  Predicament.  —  Beautiful  Sce 
nery  along  the  Orinoco.  —  Negro  Officials.  —  Disgust  of  some  of  the 
Emigrants.  —  Frightened  Natives.  —  Arrival  at  the  City  of  Bolivar.  — 
The  United  States  Consul  ashamed  of  the  Expedition.  —  Death  of  my 
Husband.  —  Another  Expedition  makes  its  Appearance. —  Sufferings  of 
the  Emigrants.  —  I  write  a  Letter  to  my  Friends  in  New  Orleans  warn 
ing  them  not  to  come  to  Venezuela.  —  Rival  Lovers.  —  I  conclude  that 
I  have  had  enough  of  Matrimony,  and  encourage  neither  of  them.  —  A 
Trip  by  Sea  to  La  Guayra  and  Caraccas.  —  I  prepare  to  leave.  —  What 
I  learned  in  Venezuela.  —  The  Resources  of  the  Country. 

» 

HE  sight  of  the  promised  land,  of  which  such 
glowing  accounts  had  been  given  them,  filled 
our  company  with  extravagant  joy.    Alas,  they 
little  knew  what  was  yet  in  store  for  them  ;  but 
the  prospect  of  being  able  to  leave  the  wretched 
little  schooner  was  such  a  pleasant  one,  that  they  scarce 
ly  thought  of  the  future,  and  almost  any  fate  seemed 
preferable  to  remaining  on  board  of  her. 

We  had  not  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river  long  before  a  small,  light  canoe  put  out 
towards  us,  and  its  occupant,  hailing  us  in  Spanish,  asked 
whether  we  did  not  want  a  pilot. 

I  was  the  only  person  on  board  who  understood  him,  and  as 
he  came  alongside  the  captain  refused  to  let  him  come  on 
board.  Some  of  the  men,  thinking  that  he  had  hostile  in 
tentions,  produced  their  pistols,  and  for  a  time  there  was  a 
prospect  of  trouble. 

I  accordingly  went  to  Johnston,  and  said,  "  Now,  Captain 
Johnston,  you  are  in  a  nice  fix.  This  man  is  a  pilot,  and  you 
cannot  go  up  the  river  without  his  assistance.  If  you  attempt 
anything  of  the  kind  you  will  be  considered  a  pirate." 

This  frightened  Johnston,  and  I  laughed  in  my  sleeve  to 
see  the  perplexity  he  was  in.  After  leaving  him  to  his  reflec 
tions  for  a  few  moments,  I  said,  in  a  whisper,  "  This  man  is  a 

542 


CREATING   A   SENSATION.  543 

government  pilot,  and  your  vessel  and  crew  are  in  imminent 
danger.  It  won't  do  to  trifle  with  these  Spaniards,  I  can  tell 
you,  for  if  you  do,  they  will  make  short  work  of  the  whole 
party." 

Johnston  saw  the  point,  and  telling  the  captain  of  the 
schooner  who  the  man  was,  he  was  permitted  to  come  on 
board.  The  arrival  of  the  pilot  created  quite  a  commotion, 
and  no  little  surprise  was  expressed  at  the  fact  of  his  being  a 
negro.  The  man,  however,  understood  his  business,  and  man 
aged  the  vessel  very  skilfully.  Without  his  assistance  we 
would  never  have  been  able  to  have  ascended  the  beautiful 
Orinoco,  or  have  steered  the  schooner  among  the  numerous 
islands. 

GOING  UP  THE  ORINOCO  RIVER. 

The  scenery  along  the  river  was  truly  beautiful,  and  all  ad 
mitted  that,  whatever  else  the  country  might  be,  it  was  certain 
ly  fair  to  look  upon.  I  had  not  much  confidence,  however,  that, 
on  closer  inspection,  it  would  prove  to  be  the  earthly  paradise 
we  were  searching  for,  but  kept  my  thoughts  to  myself,  for  I 
knew  that  there  would  not  be  much  use  in  expressing  them. 

The  first  village  we  came  to  was  Coraeppa,  where  we  took  on 
board  another  pilot,  Antonio  Silva  by  name.  He  was  a  bright 
colored  half-breed,  and,  like  the  negro,  was  skilful  in  his  busi 
ness.  When  he  boarded  us,  the  captain  exclaimed  in  disgust, 
"  Good  Lord,  are  all  the  officials  in  this  country  niggers  ? "  A 
good  many  of  the  emigrants  were  quite  as  much  disgusted  as 
the  captain,  and  seemed  to  think  that  if  the  negroes  were  of 
as  much  importance  as  they  seemed  to  be  in  Venezuela,  it 
would  have  been  just  as  well  to  have  remained  at  home  and 
fought  the  battle  for  supremacy  with  the  free  negroes  and 
carpet-baggers  on  familiar  ground. 

That  night  we  anchored  at  Baranco,  with  a  great  uncer 
tainty  before  us  as  to  whether  we  would  be  permitted  to 
proceed  any  farther  or  not.  At  this  place  I  caught  the  first 
fish,  which  was  a  grateful  addition  to  our  bill  of  fare.  Some 
of  our  people  went  in  bathing,  —  a  performance  which  aston 
ished  the  natives,  who  were  afraid  to  venture  into  the  water 
on  account  of  the  alligators,  which  abounded  in  rather  star 
tling  profusion.  Others  obtained  permission  to  go  on  shore, 
and  created  a  sensation  by  doing  so.  The  ignorant  natives, 
who  had  no  idea  who  we  were,  promptly  abandoned  their 
houses,  and,  leaving  everything  behind  them,  fled  to  the  forests. 


544  THE   CONSUL  DISGUSTED. 

They  imagined  that  we  were  a  band  of  pirates,  who  were 
coming  to  take  possession  of  the  country. 

A  messenger  was  now  despatched  to  the  city  of  Bolivar  to 
notify  the  governor  of  our  coming,  and,  with  considerable 
uncertainty  as  to  the  reception  we  were  likely  to  meet  with, 
the  next  morning  we  resumed  our  slow  progress  up  the  river. 

At  Los  Tablos  we  were  commanded  to  stop,  and  a  most 
primitive  piece  of  artillery  was  pointed  at  us,  which  excited 
some  derision  in  my  breast,  but  which  appeared  to  inspire 
terror  in  that  of  Captain  Johnston,  for  he  was  in  much  agita 
tion  lest  the  authorities  on  shore  should  take  a  notion  to  fire 
on  us. 

WE   EEACH  THE   ClTY  OP  BOLIVAB. 

After  some  parley,  however,  we  were  permitted  to  pass  on 
to  the  city  of  Bolivar  unmolested.  On  arriving  off  that  place, 
the  order  was  given  that  nobody  should  go  ashore,  much  to  the 
dissatisfaction  of  every  one,  for  there  was  not  a  man,  woman, 
or  child  on  the  steamer  but  was  anxious  to  leave  her  at  the 
earliest  practicable  moment. 

After  a  time,  the  United  States  consul,  Mr.  Dalton,  boarded 
us.  He  denied  being  the  consul  when  my  husband  spoke  to 
him,  and  said  that  he  was  heartily  ashamed  of  such  a  shabby 
expedition.  In  spite  of  his  denial,  however,  I  knew  that  he 
was  the  consul,  and  determined  to  demand  his  assistance  in 
case  it  should  be  necessary. 

I  now  resolved  to  land  and  look  out  for  myself,  and  appealed 
to  my  husband  to  come  with  me,  saying  that  I  had  money 
enough  about  me  for  all  our  present  needs,  although  the  other 
members  of  the  expedition  were  not  aware  of  the  fact,  and 
that  I  could  draw  more,  if  it  should  be  wanted,  through  the 
consul. 

My  husband,  however,  refused  to  go,  and  said  that  he  would 
stick  by  the  expedition  to  the  last.  I  suggested  that  they 
would  be  far  from  sticking  to  him  in  case  he  was  left  destitute, 
and,  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  whole  business,  I  left  the 
schooner  and  went  to  the  hotel. 

At  the  hotel  I  met  several  very  nice  people,  with  whom  I 
was  soon  on  friendly  terms,  and  was  rejoiced  to  find  myself 
once  more  in  reasonably  comfortable  quarters,  after  what  I 
had  gone  through  with.  The  hotel  was  kept  by  a  German, 
who  had  married  a  Venezuelan  woman,  and  it  was  very  well 
managed. 


ANOTHER  SHABBY  EXPEDITION.  545 

Once  on  shore,  and  free  to  do  as  I  pleased,  I  proceeded  to 
carry  out  the  purpose  I  had  in  view  when  I  started.  I  called 
on  the  consul,  and  explained  matters  to  him,  and  through  him 
obtained  an  introduction  to  the  governor  and  his  family.  By 
all  the  persons  I  met  I  was  well  received,  and  a  general 
desire  was  shown  to  give  me  such  information  as  I  needed 
with  regard  to  the  country,  and  the  inducements  which  it 
might  hold  out  for  emigrants  from  the  United  States. 

While  I  was  thus  employing  myself  on  shore  my  husband 
stuck  to  the  schooner.  Finally,  however,  he  too  became  so 
much  disgusted  that  he  concluded  to  take  my  advice,  and 
abandon  Johnston  and  his  whole  enterprise.  In  a  day  or  two 
he  left,  and  started  for  the  gold  mines,  to  find  that  the  black 
fever  was  raging  there  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  danger 
ous  for  him  to  remain.  He  therefore  returned,  and  went  to 
Caraccas,  where,  shortly  after  his  arrival,  he  was  taken  ill 
with  the  black  vomit  and  died. 


INSPECTING  THE  COUNTRY. 

I  remained  in  the  city  of  Bolivar  for  several  months,  making 
occasional  excursions  into  the  country  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  going  up  the  River  Orinoco  as  far  as  San  Fernando.  My 
object  was  to  find  out  all  I  could  about  the  natural  resources 
and  climate  of  Venezuela,  for  the  purpose  of  advising  my 
friends  in  New  Orleans ;  and  through  the  kind  assistance  of 
my  Venezuelan  acquaintances,  who  interested  themselves 
greatly  in  my  labors,  and  aided  me  by  every  means  in  their 
power,  I  was,  ere  long,  in  possession  of  ample  information  to 
enable  me  to  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  people 
from  the  United  States  seeking  new  homes  in  this  part  of  the 
world. 

The  expedition,  of  which  I  was  a  member,  was  followed,  not 
a  great  while  after,  by  another  one  of  equally  shabby  charac 
ter,  under  the  charge  of  a  Dr.  Price.  This  was  made  up 
of  poor  families,  who  had  scarcely  anything  with  them  which 
would  have  enabled  them  to  start  farming,  or  business  of  any 
kind,  in  a  strange  land.  These  people  were  sent  on  shore  by 
Price,  who  immediately  slipped  away,  and  left  them  to  their 
fate,  not  caring  what  became  of  them. 

It  was  an  outrage,  which  cannot  be  denounced  in  too  strong 
terms,  to  take  these  poor  people  out  to  Venezuela  without 
capital,  and  without  any  means  of  support ;  and  no  punishment 
35 


546  A  WARNING. 

I  can  think  of  would  have  been  too  severe  for  the  men  who 
did  the  deed. 

As  for  the  emigrants,  they  were  indignant  at  the  treatment 
they  had  received,  and  having  nobody  else  at  hand  to  vent  their 
grievances  upon,  fell  to  blaming  the  United  States  consul  and 
the  Venezuelan  authorities.  They  would  not  acknowledge 
the  consul,  and  some  of  them  abused  him  in  the  grossest  man 
ner.  This  made  him  powerless  to  act  for  them.  I  interested 
myself  as  much  as  I  could  in  behalf  of  such  as  were  disposed 
to  be  tractable,  and  succeeded,  through  the  consul's  influence, 
in  procuring  passage  back  to  the  United  States  for  several  of 
the  unfortunates.  The  rest  scattered  over  the  country  ;  some 
of  them  died,  some  found  precarious  employment  of  one  kind 
or  another,  and  some  tried  to  make  their  way  home  again. 

I  ADVISE  MY  FRIENDS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  REMAIN  AT 

HOME. 

After  the  arrival  of  Price's  expedition,  I  considered  it  my 
duty  to  communicate  with  my  friends  in  New  Orleans,  without 
more  delay,  for  the  purpose  of  warning  them,  and  all  others  who 
were  disposed  to  emigrate,  not  to  think  of  doing  anything  of 
the  kind.  I  accordingly  wrote  a  letter  advising  those  who 
thought  of  emigrating  to  Venezuela,  to  let  it  alone,  and  de 
nouncing  Johnston  and  Price  for  holding  out  inducements  to 
poor  and  ignorant  people  which  they  had  no  assurance  what 
ever  would  be  realized.  I  said  that  it  would  be  useless  for 
any  persons  from  the  States  to  come  to  Venezuela  without 
plenty  of  capital  to  carry  on  any  such  operations  as  they 
might  engage  in,  and  that  if  they  did  come  they  would  have 
to  submit  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  and  take  their  chances 
with  its  citizens.  One  great  objection  to  any  emigration 
schemes,  however,  was  the  instability  of  the  government,  and 
the  fact  that  Venezuela  had  no  national  credit.  The  Governor 
of  Bolivar  said  that  Venezuela  would  be  glad  to  have  indus 
trious  people  come  to  it  from  the  United  States,  or  any  other 
country,  and  that  facilities  would  be  afforded  for  them  to  take 
up  lands  at  low  rates,  but  he  had  no  supplies  to  give  half- 
starved  men  and  women  who  might  be  landed  within  his  juris 
diction,  and  was  anxious  that  no  one  should  come  under  any 
misapprehensions  as  to  what  reception  they  would  be  likely 
to  have  on  their  arrival. 

I  stated  the  facts  within  my  knowledge  plainly,  and  reviewed 


LIFE   IN   BOLIVAR.  547 

the  situation  in  such  terms  that  there  could  be  no  misunder 
standing  of  my  meaning,  and  before  sending  my  letter,  had  it 
countersigned  by  the  governor,  his  brother,  the  consul,  and  a 
number  of  Americans  who  were  in  the  city. 

SOCIAL  PLEASURES  OF  BOLIVAR. 

This  duty  having  been  performed,  I  felt  free  to  enjoy  myself, 
and  having  by  this  time  quite  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances, 
I  found  very  little  difficulty  in  the  way  of  having  a  good  time. 

Two  young  gentlemen,  Senor  Sayal  and  Seiior  Rodriguez, 
both  became  very  attentive  to  me,  and  very  jealous  of  each 
other,  and  very  jealous  also  of  Major  G.,  a  gentleman  whom  I 
esteemed  very  highly.  I  was  afraid  at  one  time  that  Sayal 
and  Rodriguez  would  have  a  serious  difficulty,  and  perhaps 
kill  each  other ;  the  last  named,  especially,  was  very  violent, 
and  declared  that  any  man  who  stood  in  his  way  should  die. 
As  for  myself,  the  party  chiefly  interested,  I  cared  nothing  for 
either  of  them,  except  in  the  way  of  friendship,  and  had  no 
intentions  of  marrying  again.  My  matrimonial  experiences 
hitherto  had  been  so  unfortunate,  that  I  came  to  the  conclu 
sion  I  had  better  live  single,  and  travel  about  to  see  the  world, 
relying  upon  myself  for  protection. 

While  residing  in  Bolivar  I  conformed  to  all  the  customs 
of  the  place,  and  endeavored  to  see  all  that  was  worth  seeing. 
A  number  of  families  welcomed  me  most  cordially  to  their 
homes,  and  in  company  with  my  friends  of  both  sexes,  I  went 
on  several  pleasant  excursions.  It  was  quite  a  popular  custom 
to  go  up  the  river,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  to  Marichal  or  San 
Rafael,  to  bathe.  At  these  places  there  were  regular  bathing 
grounds,  resorted  to  by  the  people  of  Bolivar,  and  the  washer 
women  also  went  there  to  do  their  work.  The  method  of 
washing  clothes  was  peculiar ;  they  would  be  thrown  over 
smooth  stones,  and  beaten  with  sticks  while  drenched  with 
water.  This  process,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  is  terribly 
destructive  to  the  clothing. 

The  city  of  Bolivar  is  a  very  beautiful  place.  It  is  built  on 
the  brow  of  a  hill,  overlooking  the  River  Orinoco,  on  one  side, 
and  a  lagoon  on  the  other.  Behind  the  city  are  the  Marichal 
Mountains,  in  which  gold  is  to  be  found,  but  scarcely  in  pay 
ing  quantities. 

The  people  of  Bolivar  are  hospitable  and  agreeable  in  their 
manners,  and  those  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  did  all 


543  A   TOO   ATTENTIVE   ADMIRER. 

they  could  to  make  my  time  pass  pleasantly,  I  attended 
several  fandangos  with  Senor  Sayal  and  Senor  Rodriguez,  as 
as  well  as  other  entertainments. 

After  having  resided  in  Bolivar  for  several  months,  I  con 
cluded  to  visit  other  portions  of  the  country,  and  accordingly 
made  a  trip  around  by  sea  to  La  'Guyra,  and  from  thence  to 
Caraccas.  To  my  great  surprise  Rodriguez  came  after  me  by 
the  next  steamer,  and  began  to  be  more  attentive  than  ever. 
He  introduced  me  to  his  relatives  who  resided  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Caraccas,  and  appeared  to  be  resolved  to  make 
sure  of  me,  now  that  he  had  his  rivals  at  a  distance.  I,  how 
ever,  gave  him  very  little  encouragement,  although,  had  I  felt 
anxious  to  marry  again,  I  perhaps  would  have  done  well  to 
have  been  more  gracious  to  him.  He  was  one  of  twelve  sons, 
and  his  parents  were  very  wealthy,  owning  immense  estates 
and  large  herds  of  cattle,  which  must  have  yielded  them 
a  great  income. 

FAREWELL  TO  VENEZUELA. 

With  this  visit  to  Caraccas  concluded  my  Venezuelan  ex 
periences,  for,  notwithstanding  the  assiduous  attentions  of 
Senor  Rodriguez,  I  could  not  be  persuaded  to  remain,  and 
made  my  preparations  to  return  to  the  United  States.  Taking 
passage  on  a  schooner  bound  for  Demerara,  in  British  Guiana, 
I  said  adieu  to  my  Venezuelan  friends,  having  made  up  my 
mind  that  my  own  country  was  the  best  to  live  in  after  all, 
and  that  in  it  thereafter  I  would  seek  my  fortune.  My  Vene 
zuelan  trip,  however,  was,  notwithstanding  the  ungracious 
auspicies  under  which  it  was  commenced,  a  source  of  gratifi 
cation  to  me.  It  made  me  acquainted  with  a  portion  of  the 
world  that  was  well  worth  looking  at,  and  it  was  the  means 
of  bringing  me  in  friendly  relations  with  a  number  of  excellent 
people,  for  whom  I  shall  always  have  a  warm  regard,  and  to 
whom  I  shall  always  feel  indebted  for  many  unsolicited 
kindnesses. 

The  personal  gratifications  which  the  trip  afforded  me  am 
ply  repaid  me  for  all  the  expense  and  trouble  I  was  put  to  in 
making  it ;  but,  beyond  this,  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  know 
ing,  that  by  accompanying  Captain  Johnston's  expedition  as  I 
did,  and  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  I  did,  I  was  the 
means  of  preventing  a  great  number  of  persons  in  the  South 
ern  states  from  being  swindled  by  speculators  who,  taking 


VENEZUELAN  PRODUCTS.  549 

advantage  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  South  after  the 
war,  and  the  discontent  of  a  large  portion  of  the  people,  were 
endeavoring,  without  proper  means  or  facilities  for  carrying 
out  their  proposed  objects,  to  organize  colonization  parties  to 
go  to  various  places  in  South  America. 

My  experiences  in  Venezuela  convinced  me  that  it  was  no 
place  for  poor  Americans  to  go  to.  For  people  who  had  capi 
tal,  and  the  skill  and  energy  to  use  it  properly,  it  held  out 
many  inducements,  but  no  more  and  no  greater  than  were  held 
out  by  the  Western  portions  of  our  own  country. 

VENEZUELA  AND  ITS  PRODUCTS. 

Portions  of  Venezuela  are  very  beautiful,  and  the  scenery 
along  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  especially,  is  lovely  in  the 
extreme.  The  country  is,  much  of  it,  fertile,  and  its  mineral 
wealth  is  very  great,  but  it  is  undeveloped,  and  those  who 
attempt  its  development  will  be  tolerably  certain  to  have  a 
hard  time  of  it,  and  to  expend  a  great  deal  of  money  before 
they  get  much  return,  either  for  their  cash  or  labor.  Apart 
from  everything  else,  the  climate  is  very  trying,  especially  to 
strangers ;  and  this  of  itself  is  a  good  and  sufficient  reason 
why  residents  of  the  United  States  would  do  well  to  tempt 
fortune  elsewhere. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  and  its  tributaries  the 
vegetation  is  most  luxuriant,  and  all  kinds  of  tropical  fruits 
abound  in  the  greatest  profusion.  The  forests  contain  mahoga 
ny,  lignum-vitse,  and  the  chinchona  tree,  from  which  quinine 
is  made.  In  the  interior  are  to  be  found  the  Caoutchouc  or 
India-rubber  tree,  and  half  a  dozen  varieties  of  the  cotton 
tree.  Some  of  the  latter  are,  I  think,  especially  worthy  of 
the  attention  of  those  who  are  interested  in  cotton- growing, 
and  with  proper  cultivation  they  might  be  made  to  yield  far 
more  valuable  results  than  they  do.  Tobacco  grows  wild,  and 
is  cultivated  to  some  extent,  but  the  natives,  although  they 
are  inveterate  consumers  of  the  weed,  do  not  understand  how 
to  cure  it  properly 

The  diet  of  the  Venezuelans  is  largely  made  up  of  fruits, 
of  which  they  have  a  great  variety,  such  as  the  banana,  of  which 
there  are  half  a  dozen  different  kinds,  cocoanuts,  figs,  mangoes, 
manzanas  de  oro,  or  golden  apples,  marma  apples,  guavas, 
oranges,  grapes,  and  pomegranates.  The  melons  are  very 
plentiful,  and,  although  small,  are  sweet  and  well  flavored. 


550  THE   BIRDS   AND   BEASTS   OF   VENEZUELA. 

Sugar  is  made  to  some  extent  from  the  cane,  which  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  maple  sugar  of  the  United  States. 
Yams  and  sweet  potatoes  are  very  abundant,  and  there  is  a 
hardy  species  of  cabbage  which  grows  on  the  edges  of  marshes, 
and  which  sometimes  attains  a  height  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
feet.  The  calabashes  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  and  are  used 
for  carrying  water.  The  onions  are  numerous,  but  small. 

The  flowers  grow  in  great  profusion,  and  are  very  beautiful. 
The  mariposa  attains  to  the  height  of  the  oleander,  and  has 
gorgeous  white  and  scarlet  blossoms.  The  zueco  is  a  bright 
little  plant,  and  is  very  fragrant.  The  people  of  Venezuela  are 
exceedingly  fond  of  flowers,  and  always  have  a  great  number 
of  them  about  their  dwellings. 

The  birds  of  Venezuela,  for  the  most  part,  are  of  very  rich 
plumage.  There  are  several  varieties  of  parrots,  of  which  the 
macaw,  and  the  green  and  gray  parrots,  are  the  talkers.  The 
paroquets  are  very  diminutive,  and  are  beautiful  little  birds. 
The  cock  of  the  rocks,  which  is  the  color  of  the  redbird  of 
the  United  States,  is  easily  domesticated  ;  it  has  a  ruffle  of 
feathers  about  an  inch  in  length,  which  encircles  its  neck  from 
the  wings  to  the  beak.  The  ayax  is  a  bird  that  is  heard  last 
in  the  evening  and  first  in  the  morning  ;  it  has  a  very  peculiar 
cry,  and  the  natives  are  exceedingly  superstitious  about  it, 
thinking  that  should  they  kill  it  some  misfortune  is  certain 
to  happen  to  them. 

The  lizards  and  other  reptiles  are  too  numerous  for  descrip 
tion.  In  the  huts  of  the  poorer  classes,  lizards,  scorpions, 
roaches,  and  other  live  stock  live  on  the  most  intimate  terms 
with  the  human  inhabitants,  and  do  not  appear  to  interfere 
very  materially  with  their  comfort. 

The  forests  and  jungles  are  filled  with  panthers,  jaguars, 
and  South  American  tigers.  The  last  named  are  very  fero 
cious,  and  the  natives  stand  in  great  fear  of  them. 

THE  PEOPLE  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  VENEZUELA. 

The  people  of  Venezuela  are  very  superstitious,  and  are 
exceedingly  particular  about  their  religious  observances.  In 
their  manners  they  are  courteous  and  unaffected,  and  some  of 
their  household  ways  are  very  primitive.  Their  meat  is  cured 
in  strips,  and  their  corn  is  ground  between  two  stones,  the 
under  one  of  which  is  hollowed  out  to  some  extent.  This 
kind  of  work  is  chiefly  done  by  the  women.  The  men  make 


THE   MINERAL   WEALTH   OF   VENEZUELA.  551 

hammocks  out  of  grass,  bark,  and  cotton,  and  employ  them 
selves  in  the  cultivation  of  the  ground,  and  in  the  care  of 
live  stock  and  the  pursuit  of  game.  In  the  summer  time  the 
hammocks  are  swung  out  in  the  open  air  between  two  trees, 
or  in  rude  huts  with  no  sides  to  them.  The  milk  of  the  ass  is 
preferred  to  that  of  the  cow  or  goat.  Most  of  the  cooking  is 
done  in  earthenware  jars  or  pipkins.  Earthenware  jars,  of  a 
peculiar  make,  are  also  used  for  keeping  water  for  drinking 
purposes  in. 

The  principal  exports  of  Venezuela  are  cattle,  hides,  tallow, 
and  coffee  from  the  La  Guayra  and  Maracaybo  districts.  The 
United  States  consul  at  Bolivar,  while  I  was  there,  was  inter 
ested  to  some  extent  in  gold  mining.  The  quartz  was  brought 
from  the  Caratol  mountains,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  distant, 
on  the  backs  of  donkeys,  and  was  purchased  by  the  consul 
from*  the  natives  with  merchandise.  Having  obtained  the 
quartz,  he  crushed  it,  and  extracted  the  metal,  which  was 
forwarded  to  the  mint  in  Philadelphia.  The  mineral  wealth 
of  Venezuela  is  very  great ;  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  tin 
abounding  in  large  quantities.  The  mines,  however,  are,  for 
the  most  part,  far  distant  from  the  commercial  centres,  and 
are  very  inefficiently  worked.  It  would  pay  capitalists  to  go 
into  the  mining  business  in  Venezuela  if  they  could  get  some 
railroads  built,  or  even  if  they  could  get  some  good  common 
roads  made. 

The  country  away  from  the  seaboard  or  the  watercourses 
is  thinly  settled,  and  there  is  not  likely  to  be  any  great 
increase  in  the  population  until  the  facilities  for  easy  travel 
ling  are  much  greater  than  they  are,  or  were  at  the  time  of 
my  visit.  The  roads  to  the  mines  are  mere  paths,  not  larger 
than  cattle  trails. 

The  natives  in  the  interior  suffer  many  hardships  and  priva 
tions,  and  any  one  going  to  Venezuela  without  ample  capital, 
must  expect  to  do  the  same.  One  great  source  of  annoyance  to 
the  country  people  is  the  jigger,  —  a  species  of  worm  which 
buries  itself  in  the  feet,  generally  under  the  skin  near  the 
toe-nails.  It  is  very  painful  under  any  circumstances,  and  it 
not  infrequently  causes  the  loss  of  the  toes. 

As  in  nearly  all  of  the  South  American  states,  the  govern 
ment  of  Venezuela  is  very  unsettled ;  and  the  schemings  of 
ambitious  politicians,  who  are  ready  at  any  moment  to  resort 
to  arms  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  ends,  render  both  life 
and  property  to  some  extent  insecure.  To  be  sure,  the 


552  INSECURITY. 

revolutions  which  occur  there  from  time  to  time  do  not,  as  a 
rule,  cause  any  great  amount  of  bloodshed,  notwithstanding 
the  commotions  they  make,  but  they  have  the  effect  of  leaving 
a  sense  of  insecurity  on  the  public  mind,  and  of  preventing 
improvement  which  otherwise  might  be  made.  The  white 
people  are,  for  the  most  part,  well  educated  and  intelligent, 
but  they  do  not  appear  to  understand  the  art  of  self-govern 
ment  ;  while  the  negroes,  Indians,  and  half-breeds  seem  to  be 
incapable  of  doing  anything  to  advance  their  own  condition, 
or  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  country.  With  such  a 
heterogeneous  population  as  resides  within  its  borders,  and 
with  the  educated  whites  so  greatly  in  the  minority  as  they 
are,  there  is  not  much  prospect  of  Venezuela  speedily  attain 
ing  the  position  her  agricultural  and  mineral  resources  would 
seem  to  entitle  her  to. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 
DEMERARA,   TRINIDAD,   BARBADOES,  AND   ST.    LUCIA. 

From  Venezuela  to  Demerara.  —  The  Hotels  of  Georgetown,  Demerara. 

—  The   United   States   Consul   at  Georgetown.  —  A  Visit  to  a  Coffee 
Plantation.  —  A  Cooly  murders  his  Wife.  —  Excitement  in  the  Streets 
of  Georgetown.  —  The  Products  of  Demerara.  —  Fort  Spain,  Trinidad. 

—  A  very  dirty  Town.  —  Bridgetown,  Barbadoes.  —  Having  a  good  Time 
among  old   Friends.  —  A  Drive  to  Speightstown.  —  St.  Lucia.  —  The 
old  Homestead.  —  Reminiscences  of  Childhood.  —  The  Past,  the  Pres 
ent,  and  the  Future.  —  The  Family  Burying-ground. 

HE  schooner  Isabel,  in  which  I  sailed  for  Dem 
erara,  had   a   rather   unsavory    cargo  in  the 
shape  of  cattle ;    but   being   an   experienced 
traveller,  and  accustomed  to   roughing  it,  I 
did  not  permit  myself  to  be  annoyed  by  my 
surroundings  ;  and  as  the  weather  was  fine,  I  greatly 
enjoyed  this  brief  cruise  along  the  tropical  South  Amer 
ican  coast. 

There  were  two  lady  passengers  besides  myself, 
whose  companionship  I  found  very  agreeable  ;  and  I  had 
with  me  a  number  of  pets,  whose  capers  and  gambols  afforded 
all  on  board  much  amusement.  These  pets  were  two  monkeys, 
a  young  South  American  tiger,  two  parrots,  and  a  dozen  paro 
quets.  One  of  the  monkeys  was  named  Bob  Lee,  while  the 
tiger  was  called  Joe  Johnston.  One  of  our  chief  diversions 
was  to  get  up  contests  between  these  animals  over  their  meals. 
The  monkey,  being  of  more  mature  age  and  of  superior  cun 
ning,  almost  invariably  got  the  better  of  his  antagonist,  al 
though  the  tiger  would  make  a  good  fight.  This  tiger  was 
very  tame  and  very  gentle,  and  he  liked  nothing  better  than 
to  be  taken  in  my  lap  and  petted. 

On  landing  at  Georgetown,  we  were  beset  by  negroes, 
offering  us  sapadillos  for  sale ;  but,  disregarding  them,  I  bade 
adieu  to  my  travelling  companions,  and  went  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  Hotel,  and  asked  for  accommodation.  The  sapadillo,  I 
may  remark  here,  is  a  small  fruit,  shaped  something  like  a  pear ; 

553 


554  A  RELIEF  FUND. 

the  skin  is  roughish,  and  the  flesh  inside  is  of  a  maroon  color, 
and  rather  tart  to  the  taste.  The  Prince  of  Wales  Hotel  was 
kept  by  a  negro ;  on  discovering  which,  I  was  rather  dubious 
about  stopping  there.  The  captain  of  the  schooner  told  me 
that  there  was  another  hotel  kept  by  white  people  ;  but,  on  in 
specting  it,  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  wise  for  me  to  take 
up  my  quarters  at  the  African  establishment. 

The  hostess  of  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Hotel  was  a  mulatto 
woman,  of  about  forty-five  years  of  age.  She  was  quite  good- 
looking,  and  had  been  the  wife  of  an  English  sea  captain,  by 
whom  she  had  two  daughters.  Her  husband  was  dead,  and 
one  of  her  daughters  was  married  to  a  white  man,  who  was 
extensively  engaged  in  coffee- growing.  This  woman  was  very 
intelligent  herself,  and  she  had  taken  pains  to  have  her  chil 
dren  carefully  educated.  As  a  hotel  keeper,  she  was  much 
above  the  average  ;  and  during  my  stay  in  her  house,  she  did 
every  thing  possible  to  make  me  comfortable. 

The  captain  of  the  schooner  introduced  me  to  a  number  of 
prominent  people  in  Georgetown,  and  I  went  of  my  own  ac 
cord  to  call  on  the  United  States  consul.  This  official  was  a 
German  by  birth,  and  he  was  engaged  in  making  a  collection 
of  animals  for  the  Zoological  Garden  of  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main.  His  wife,  a  very  pleasant  woman,  took  a  great  deal  of 
interest  in  his  pursuits,  and  devoted  a  large  portion  of  her  time 
to  the  care  of  the  numerous  pets,  in  the  way  of  monkeys, 
dogs,  cats,  and  squirrels,  with  which  the  house  abounded. 

A  CONTRIBUTION  FOR  MY  RELIEF. 

Among  the  persons  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  was 
an  officer  belonging  to  a  United  States  man-of-war  which  was 
lying  in  the  harbor.  This  gentleman,  hearing  that  I  was 
one  of  a  party  of  emigrants  from  the  States,  and  was  on 
my  way  back,  supposed  that  I  must  be  in  destitute  circum 
stances.  He  accordingly  represented  my  case  in  such  a  way, 
on  board  his  ship,  that  a  considerable  sum  of  money  was 
raised  for  me,  and  the  commander  of  the  vessel  called  at  the 
hotel  to  give  it  to  me,  and  to  offer  me  such  other  aid  as  he 
was  able  to  bestow.  The  consul,  when  he  heard  of  this 
occurrence,  was  much  annoyed  that  I  had  not  informed  him 
that  I  was  in  want  of  money,  in  order  that  he  might  have  as 
sisted  me.  I  had  some  trouble  in  making  these  good  gentle 
men  understand  my  real  position.  They  were  very  indignant 


EXCITING    OCCUEKENCES.  555 

over  the  story  I  told  with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  peo 
ple  in  the  Southern  States  had  been  deluded 'into  emigrating 
to  Venezuela,  and  other  portions  of  South  America,  and  prom 
ised  to  use  their  influence  to  check  the  schemes  of  such  men 
as  Johnston  and  Price. 

Having  expressed  a  desire  to  proceed  on  my  journey  north 
ward,  the  consul  introduced  me  to  the  captain  of  a  vessel 
which  was  shortly  to  sail  for  Barbadoes,  and  I  arranged  with 
him  for  a  passage. 

While  waiting  for  the  vessel  to  sail,  I  made  a  trip  into  the 
country,  to  visit  the  coffee  plantation  of  Mr.  Waite,  the  hus 
band  of  my  landlady's  daughter.  When  we  reached  the  plan 
tation,  we  found  everybody  there  in  considerable  excitement 
over  a  murder  that  had  just  been  committed.  A  cooly  who 
was  jealous,  had,  it  appeared,  cut  the  throat  of  his  wife,  her 
crime  being  that  she  had  looked  at  another  man.  Mr. 
Waite  assured  me  that  there  was  nothing  strange  about  such 
an  occurrence  a  this,  and  that  such  outrages  were  happen 
ing  constantly. 

MUCH  ADO  ABOUT  NOTHING. 

On  our  return  to  Georgetown,  we  found  that  place  in  a 
commotion.  The  people  were  rushing  about  the  streets,  yell 
ing  at  the  tops  of  their  voices,  and  making  a  terrible  to  do. 
I  supposed,  of  course,  that  it  was  another  murder,  but  was 
informed  that  the  excitement  was  caused  by  the  pound-master 
making  a  raid  on  the  goats,  which  were  permitted  to  roam 
about  the  streets  contrary  to  law.  These  goats  being  the 
chief  means  of  support  of  many  of  the  poor  people,  their  ar 
rest  by  the  pound-master  was,  from  a  South  American  point 
of  view,  a  very  much  more  serious  matter  than  the  murder  of 
a  cooly  woman. 

Another  sensation  was  shortly  after  caused  by  a  fellow  from 
New  Jersey  absconding  with  a  large  sum  of  money.  He  had 
started  some  kind  of  speculation,  and  had  induced  a  number 
of  people  to  invest  their  means.  Having  secured  a  good 
round  sum,  he  quietly  slipped  away,  carrying  the  cash  with 
him.  There  was,  of  course,  an  immense  amount  of  indigna 
tion  among  the  sufferers.  One  of  the  victims,  an  old  Scotch 
man,  gave  me  a  most  pitiful  recital  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  been  swindled.  I,  however,  gave  him  but  little  comfort, 
and  told  him  I  thought  he  deserved  to  lose  his  money,  for  not 


556  PRODUCTS  OP  DEMERARA. 

having  more  wit  than  to  trust  it  in  the  hands  of  such  a  trans 
parent  rogue  as  this  fellow  appeared  to  be. 

During  my  visit  to  Mr.  Waite's  coffee  plantation,  and  during 
other  excursions  I  made  to  the  interior,  I  had  excellent  oppor 
tunities  afforded  me  for  seeing  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of 
Georgetown,  and  of  obtaining  information  concerning  it. 

THE  VEGETABLES  AND  ANIMALS  OP  DEMERARA. 

Like  Venezuela,  this  portion  of  Demerara  is  very  beautiful 
to  the  eye,  and  is  very  rich  in  products  of  the  soil.  The  palm 
trees  grow  to  a  great  size,  and  are  useful  in  innumerable  ways. 
The  adobe,  or  mud  huts  of  the  poorer  classes,  are  invariably 
thatched  with  palm  leaves,  interwoven  with  cane,  and  plas 
tered  with  mud.  This  kind  of  a  roof  has  merits,  but  it  also 
has  some  disadvantages,  not  the  least  of  which  is,  that  it 
affords  an  admirable  habitation  for  ants,  lizards,  snakes, 
roaches,  scorpions,  and  spiders,  of  all  colors  and  sizes.  The 
people,  however,  do  not  appear  to  mind  this  vermin,  and  it 
has  seemed  to  me  that  they  rather  enjoyed  sharing  their  hab 
itations  with  the  venomous  reptiles  arid  insects.  Of  the  fibres 
of  the  palm  are  made  various  kinds  of  cordage,  nets,  ham 
mocks,  lassos,  mats,  and  many  household  conveniences. 

There  are  a  number  of  different  kinds  of  cactus,  some  of 
which  grow  to  a  great  height.  The  fruit  of  the  scarlet  variety 
is  made  into  a  kind  of  preserve,  which  is  pleasant  eating,  re 
sembling  in  flavor  that  made  from  the  crab-apple.  From  this 
fruit,  also,  an  agreeable  drink  is  prepared,  which  is  very  re 
freshing. 

From  the  candle  tree,  the  natives,  at  certain  seasons,  ex 
tract  the  sap  by  making  incisions  in  the  bark.  This  sap,  which 
is  oily  in  its  nature,  is  caught  in  earthen  bowls,  and  after  it 
solidifies,  —  which  it  does  very  rapidly  on  being  exposed  to 
the  air,  —  is  made  into  candles. 

The  milk  tree  is  treated  in  the  same  manner.  The  juice, 
when  it  is  first  extracted,  is  thin  and  watery,  like  that  of  the 
grape  vine.  After  standing  for  a  short  time  it  thickens,  and 
becomes  of  the  color  of  goat's  milk.  When  it  is  in  this  con 
dition  the  natives  drink  it,  and  are  exceedingly  fond  of  it.  If 
permitted  to  stand  a  sufficient  time,  the  milk  solidifies  to  the 
consistency  of  thick  jelly,  and  then  twists  of  cotton  are  dipped 
in  it,  and  are  used  for  candles. 

The  guaca  is  a  powerful  antidote  for  poisons,  and  is  used 


THE   BIRDS    OF   DEMERARA.  557 

to  cure  the  wounds  caused  by  the  bite  of  snakes  and  insects. 
It  is  also  said  lo  be  an  antidote  for  the  virus  of  a  mad  dog. 
The  odor  is  very  peculiar,  but  not  unpleasant. 

The  tamarind  trees  grow  to  a  large  size  ;  their  fruit  greatly 
resembles  the  bean  of  the  honey  locust  of  the  United  States. 
The  tamarind  beans,  when  preserved,  make  a  cooling  bever 
age,  by  being  soaked  in  water,  which  is  useful  in  the  sick- 
chamber,  especially  in  fever  cases. 

The  pili  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  ropes,  cordage,  and 
sacks,  and  I  think  would  make  good  paper.  Of  the  divi,  cart 
wheels  are  made.  The  nutmeg  trees  grow  luxuriantly  with 
out  cultivation.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  vegetable  prod 
ucts  of  Demerara,  but  they  will  suffice  to  give  the  reader  a 
general  idea  with  regard  to  the  products  of  the  soil. 

The  snakes  of  Demerara  are  of  all  sizes,  kinds,  and  colors. 
One  of  the  most  curious  is  a  small  snake,  which  is  spotted 
with  twelve  different  colors ;  these  are  chiefly  found  lodged 
in  the  branches  of  the  bamboo.  They  are  said  to  be  harmless ; 
other  varieties,  however,  are  exceedingly  venomous. 

There  is  a  species  of  red  ant,  which  builds  its  habitations  up 
in  the  forks  of  the  trees,  where  they  look  almost  like  the 
prairie  dog  villages  of  our  western  country.  The  houses  are 
made  of  mud,  which  is  collected  into  a  ball,  and  then  pushed 
up  the  tree  by  the  insect,  with  infinite  labor. 

The  birds  of  Demerara  are  as  numerous  and  as  gorgeous  in 
their  plumage  as  those  of  Venezuela.  The  parrots  of  all  kinds, 
especially,  abound  in  immense  numbers.  While  I  was  at 
Georgetown,  my  friend,  Captain  M.,  shot  at  some  parrots  who 
were  in  a  mango  tree  feeding  on  the  fruit,  and  wounded  one, 
which  fell  and  lodged  in  the  fork  of  two  limbs,  making  such 
a  pitiful  cry  that  he  had  not  the  heart  to  shoot  again.  The 
mate  of  this  wounded  bird  attended  to  its  wants  with  infinite 
care,  bringing  it  food  and  water  for  several  days,  until  it  died. 
The  last  day  water  was  brought  every  hour  j  and  when  at 
length  the  sick  bird  died,  the  mate  uttered  a  most  human 
like  cry  of  sorrow  and  despair.  The  parrots  of  all  kinds  go  in 
couples,  and  like  the  pigeons,  they  migrate  in  the  rainy  season. 

The  humming-birds  appear  to  be  quite  as  numerous,  while 
there  are  even  more  varieties  of  them  than  there  are  of  the 
parrots.  They  are  beautiful  little  creatures,  and  I  never 
became  tired  of  watching  their  motions.  Like  the  parrots, 
these  tiny  birds  seemed  to  be  gifted  with  extraordinary  intel 
ligence. 


558  AT   BARBADOES. 

My  vessel  being  at  length  ready,  I  sailed  for  Barbadoes,  by 
way  of  Trinidad.  The  weather  was  very  rough  for  a  couple 
of  days,  and  as  a  consequence  I  was  terribly  sea-sick.  I  how 
ever  recovered  before  we  reached  Port  Spain,  and  having  a 
tremendous  appetite,  I  made  sad  havoc  between  meals  with 
the  captain's  sweetmeats,  sardines,  and  crackers.  He  was  a 
whole-souled,  jolly  sort  of  a  man,  who,  in  consideration  of  my 
being  his  only  lady  passenger,  paid  me  particular  attention, 
and  placed  his  private  larder  at  my  disposal. 

When  we  reached  Port  Spain,  the  chief  town  of  the  Island  of 
Trinidad,  the  captain  said  that  we  would  have  to  remain  there 
about  eight  hours,  and  that  I  and  the  other  passengers  had 
better  step  ashore  and  see  the  place.  We  accordingly  strolled 
about  the  town  until  it  was  time  for  the  vessel  to  leave,  but 
were  not  impressed  with  its  beauty.  It  was  a  very  dingy- 
looking  settlement,  with  a  very  ragged  and  dirty  native  pop 
ulation.  There  were  a  few  Englishmen,  but  the  majority  of 
the  people  were  negroes  or  half-breeds,  whose  habitations 
were  disgustingly  dirty  and  squalid. 

I  .was  not  sorry  to  get  away  from  Port  Spain,  although  if 
there  had  been  time  I  would  have  taken  pleasure  in  exploring 
the  interior  of  Trinidad,  and  especially  in  visiting  the  famous 
pitch  lake,  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the  island. 

A  quick  run  brought  us  to  Bridgetown,  Barbadoes,  where  I 
felt  at  home,  having  visited  the  place  on  blockade-running 
business  during  the  war,  and  having  a  number  of  acquaint 
ances  residing  there,  who,  I  anticipated,  would  be  glad  to  see 
me  for  the  sake  of  old  times.  I  was  not  disappointed,  for,  on 
taking  up  my  quarters  at  the  Prince  Albert  Hotel,  I  soon  fell 
in  with  friends,  who  welcomed  me  as  heartily  as  I  could  have 
desired,  and  who  exerted  themselves  to  make  my  visit  in  all 
respects  a  most  enjoyable  one. 

HOSPITALITIES  OF  BARBADOES. 

The  day  after  my  arrival,  Captain  F.,  of  Liverpool,  came  with 
a  handsome  carriage  and  pair,  and  invited  me  to  drive  out  with 
him  and  some  other  friends,  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  points 
of  interest  on  the  island.  We  went  first  to  the  barracks,  to 
see  a  drill  of  the  British  troops  stationed  there,  and  afterwards 
drove  to  Speightstown,  over  a  broad  road  lined  with  cocoanut 
trees,  which  presented  a  truly  magnificent  appearance.  These 
graceful  trees  are  extensively  used  in  Barbadoes  for  dividing 


OFF  FOR  ST.  LUCIA.  559 

the  farms  instead  of  fences  or  hedges,  and  the  use  which  is 
•  made  of  them  a'dds  greatly  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  land 
scape.  On  our  way,  we  stopped  at  two  dairy  farms,  and  I 
obtained  some  good  buttermilk,  a  beverage  of  which  I  am 
very  fond.  My  companions,  however,  did  not  take  kindly  to 
it,  and  in  true  British  fashion  quenched  their  thirst  with  ale 
and  beer.  This  trip  to  the  interior  was  a  delightful  one  in 
every  respect,  the  country  being  very  beautiful,  and  I  enjoyed 
it  greatly ;  more,  perhaps,  than  I  otherwise  would,  on  account 
of  having  just  made  a  sea  voyage. 

On  returning  to  Bridgetown,  the  whole  party  of  us  were 
invited  to  dine  with  a  wealthy  American  gentleman,  who  had 
just  arrived  by  the  steamer,  and  who  was  on  a  visit  to  a  num 
ber  of  the  West  India  Islands.  He  was  very  much  inter 
ested  in  my  account  of  South  America,  and  of  my  experience 
there,  and  agreed  most  heartily  with  me  that  it  was  the  worst 
kind  of  folly  for  people  to  emigrate  to  Venezuela,  or  any  other 
of  the  South  American  states,  unless  they  had  ample  capital ; 
even  with  ample  capital,  he  thought  that  they  could  do  better 
at  home,  despite  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs  incident  to 
the  late  war. 

Captain  F.,  having  been  informed  of  my  intention  of  sailing 
by  the  next  steamer,  and  of  stopping  at  St.  Lucia,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  visiting  the  home  of  my  early  childhood,  regretted 
that  he  would  see  so  little  of  me,  as  his  vessel  was  to  leave 
the  next  day.  I  was  sorry  too,  for  he  was  a  very  agreeable 
man,  and  professed  to  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  me  on 
account  of  my  services  in  behalf  of  the  Confederacy.  Being 
unable  to  show  me  more  attention  himself,  the  captain  brought 
a  number  of  his  Barbadoes  lady  friends  to  see  me,  and  kindly 
commended  me  to  their  consideration.  He  then  said  that  as 
he  would  pass  St.  Lucia  before  the  mail  steamer  in  which  I 
intended  to  take  passage  would  reach  there,  he  would  scarcely 
be  likely  to  see  me  again,  and  so  wished  me  a  safe  journey 
back  to  the  States,  and  all  manner  of  good  luck  in  the  future. 

Three  days  after  his  departure  my  steamer  was  ready  to 
start,  and  I  said  good  by  to  my  Barbadoes  friends  with  real 
regret,  for  they  had  been  most  kind  to  me,  and  had  fairly  over 
whelmed  me  with  their  attentions.  Being  bent  upon  visiting 
my  relatives  and  my  early  home,  I  purchased  a  ticket  permit 
ting  me  to  stop  at  St.  Lucia  until  the  next  steamer,  and  after 
a  short  and  pleasant  cruise,  which  was  not  marked  by  any 
incident  of  note,  we  reached  the  island  which  was  endeared  to 


560  THE   OLD   HOMESTEAD. 

me  as  being  my  mother's  birth-place,  and  on  account  of  my 
residence  on  it,  being  among  the  most  fascinating  recollections 
of  my  childhood. 

As  I  was  preparing  to  leave  the  steamer,  I  was  surprised 
by  the  steward  bringing  me  a  beautiful  basket  filled  with  dif 
ferent  kinds  of  fruit.  A  card  which  accompanied  it  told  me 
that  it  was  from  Captain  F.,  who  had  been  obliged  to  stop  at 
St.  Lucia  for  repairs,  having  broken  a  mast.  On  going  on 
shore,  I  sent  the  captain  a  note,  requesting  him  to  call  on  me 
at  the  residence  of  my  cousin,  the  old  family  homestead. 
This  he  did,  and  I  introduced  him  to  my  relatives.  His  visit 
was  a  short  one,  however,  as  his  vessel  was  almost  ready  for 
sea,  and  so  he  said  good  by  again,  and  for  the  last  time.  I 
have  never  seen  him  since. 

MY  CHILDHOOD'S  HOME. 

It  was  not  without  a  certain  feeling  of  sadness  and  strange 
ness  that  I  found  myself  once  more  domiciled  in  the  old- 
fashioned  stone  house  where  I  had  lived  with  my  father  and 
mother,  and  brothers,  and  sisters,  when  a  little  girl.  The 
house  and  its  surroundings  were  much  the  same  as  they  were 
many  years  before,  and  yet  there  was  something  oddly  unfa 
miliar  about  them,  and  it  took  me  some  time  to  reconcile  my 
recollections  with  the  realities.  The  stone  house,  built  in  the 
English  fashion,  the  marble  floor,  the  ancient  furniture  of 
Spanish  make,  the  stone  water-pool  and  stone  filter,  and  the 
banana  and  prune  bushes  which  grew  at  my  mother's  window, 
were,  however,  all  as  they  had  been,  and  as  if  I  had  left  them 
but  yesterday. 

In  gazing  on  these  familiar  objects,  I  was  forced,  in  spite  of 
myself,  to  think  of  the  many  years  that  had  passed  since  I  had 
last  seen  them,  and  of  the  many  things  that  had  happened. 
The  happy  family  that  had  gathered  under  this  roof  had  been 
scattered,  and  most  of  its  members  were  dead ;  while  I,  the 
darling  of  my  father  and  of  my  gentle  mother,  what  a  strange 
career  I  had  gone  through — stranger  far  than  that  of  many  a 
heroine  of  romance  whose  adventures  had  fascinated  my  girl 
ish  fancy  !  I  was  yet,  too,  a  young  woman,  and  what  strange 
things  might  not  the  future  have  in  store  for  me  ?  It  was 
enough,  however,  just  then  to  think  of  the  past  and  of  the 
present,  without  perplexing  myself  with  speculations  as  to  the 
future  ;  and  I  gave  myself  up  to  such  enjoyment  as  a  visit  of 


THE  FAMILY  BURYING-GBOUND.  561 

this  kind  to  a  fondly  remmembered  home  of  childhood  was 
able  to  afford. 

After  viewing  the  old  house  and  its  immediate  surround 
ings,  I  went  to  the  family  bury  ing-ground  in  search  of  the 
weather-stained  vault,  which  contained  the  earthly  remains 
of  near  and  dear  relatives,  among  others,  of  a  sister  and  a 
brother,  whose  faces  I  never  beheld  after  I  left  Cuba  to  go  to 
New  Orleans  to  school.  The  ivy  and  the  myrtle  grew  so 
thick  about  it  as  almost  to  hide  the  inscription  ;  and  yet  there 
was  something  beautiful  in  the  appearance  of  the  spot,  which 
marked  it  as  the  fitting  resting-place  for  the  beloved  dead.  As 
I  stood  by  this  vault,  and  thought  how  lonely  I  was  in  the  world, 
and  how  unpropitious  the  future  seemed,  I  thought  that  if  it 
could  be  the  will  of  God  that  my  spirit  should  be  taken  to  him 
self,  I  would  gladly  have  my  body  rest  here  beside  those 
of  my  brother  and  sister.  I  was  reluctant  to  leave  the  place, 
but  felt  impelled  to  go  on  and  seek  the  destiny  that  awaited 
me  in  another  land,  and  resolved  to  be  as  courageous  as  ever 
in  meeting  whatever  fate  or  position  the  future  might  have 
in  store  for  me.  Before  leaving  the  tomb  I  knelt  down  to 
pluck  some  ivy  leaves,  to  carry  away  as  remembrances,  but 
as  I  stretched  out  my  hand  to  gather  them,  something  re 
strained  me,  and  I  went  away  empty-handed  as  I  had  come. 

I  remained  in  the  old  homestead,  enjoying  the  hospitality 
of  my  cousins,  until  the  arrival  of  the  steamer,  and  then  said 
farewell  to  St.  Lucia — my  visit  to  it  having  been  the  happiest 
episode  of  my  journey. 
36 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 
ST.  THOMAS  AND  CUBA. 

St.  Thomas.  —  A  cordial  Welcome.  —  A  reception  at  the  Hotel.  —  Points 
of  Interest  at  St.  Thomas.  —  The  Escape  of  the  Florida.  —  Santiago  de 
Cuba. —  Hospitalities. —  Havana.  —  Visits  from  my  Relatives.  —  Courte 
sies  from  Spanish  Officials  and  Others.  —  I  take  part  in  a  Procession, 
attired  as  a  Spanish  Officer.  —  General  Mansana  taken  sick.  —  A 
Steamer  in  the  Harbor  with  Emigrants  from  the  United  States  on 
Board  bound  for  Para.  —  I  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  return.  — 
Death  of  General  Mansana.  —  I  start  for  New  York. 

ROM  St.  Lucia  I  went  to  the  Danish  Island  of 
St.  Thomas,  where  one  of  my  friends  of  the 
war  time,  to  whom  I  had  written  announcing 
my  intention  of  revisiting  the  place,  was  ex 
pecting  my  arrival.  When  we  entered  the 
harbor,  the  passenger  boat,  which  was  to  take 
'us  ashore,  came  off  to  the  steamer,  and  as  she  neared, 
I  recognized  my  friend.  I  waved  my  handkerchief 
to  him,  and  he  took  off  his  hat,  and  when  the  boat 
_  came  alongside  he  sprang  on  board,  and  shook  me  most 
cordially  by  the  hand,  expressing,  as  he  did  so,  the  greatest 
gratification  at  seeing  me  again. 

When  we  reached  the  wharf  I  met  another  of  my  old  war 
acquaintances,  the  Italian  consul.  He,  also,  was  glad  to  see 
me,  and  asked  me  all  manner  of  questions  about  where  I  had 
been,  and  what  I  had  been  doing  since  the  blockade-running 
business  had  come  to  a  stand-still.  I  walked  between  my  two 
friends  up  to  the  hotel,  where  I  found  that  a  fine  large  room 
had  been  engaged  for  me,  and,  once  fairly  installed  in  it,  the 
visitors  came  pouring  in,  one  after  the  other ;  first,  the  pro 
prietor  and  his  wife,  then  the  Danish  commandant's  wife,  then 
half  a  dozen  others,  until  I  was  obliged  to  go  into  the  drawing- 
room  and  hold  a  regular  reception. 

Nowhere  during  my  trip  had  I  been  welcomed  with  a  more 
.hearty  and  sincere  courtesy,  or  with  a  more  evident  disposi- 

562 


AT   ST.    THOMAS.  563 

tion  to  make  a  heroine  of  me.  All  through  the  evening  people 
were  coming  in,  some  of  them  acquaintances,  who,  having 
heard  of  my  arrival,  were  anxious  to  extend  a  welcome  ;  and 
others,  strangers,  who  had  learned  something  of  my  adven 
turous  career,  were  desirous  of  being  introduced  to  me.  One 
of  the  most  agreeable  of  my  visitors  was  Mr.  English,  the 
correspondent  of  a  newspaper  in  Manchester,  England.  He 
was  a  fine,  dashing  young  fellow,  overflowing  with  wit  and 
humor,  and  his  lively  conversation  created  a  great  deal  of  en 
tertainment. 

During  the  evening  some  of  the  company  amused  them 
selves  with  dominos,  others  with  cards,  while  I  was  sur 
rounded  constantly  by  quite  a  little  crowd  of  persons  who 
persisted  in  having  me  relate  to  them  some  of  my  adventures. 
After  a  time  wine,  ale,  and  cakes  were  brought  in,  and  the  gen 
tlemen,  and  some  of  the  ladies,  too,  regaled  themselves  with 
cigars  and  cigarettes.  It  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock  when  the 
Italian  consul,  a  white  haired  old  gentleman,  arose,  and  asking 
to  be  excused,  wished  us  good  night.  As  I  was  tired  I  fol 
lowed  him,  asking  my  kind  friends  to  excuse  me,  and  so  the 
party  broke  up. 

I  slept  late  the  next  morning,  and  was  awakened  by  a  tap 
at  my  door.  It  was  Mrs.  Captain  B.,  who  wished  to  know  if 
I  was  sick.  I  said  that  I  was  quite  well ;  whereat  she  smiled, 
and  said  she  would  send  me  a  cup  of  chocolate.  The  girl  soon 
came  with  the  chocolate,  and  after  drinking  it,  I  dressed  myself 
and  went  down  to  the  drawing-room.  As  I  passed  the  con 
sul's  office,  he  came  out  and  gave  me  a  "  good  morning,"  and 
offered  me  his  arm  to  take  me  in  to  breakfast. 

After  breakfast,  I  was  joined  in  the  drawing-room  by  quite 
a  large  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  who  proposed  that  I 
should  go  with  them  through  the  fort,  and  up  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  to  see  the  scenery. 

THINGS  TO  BE  SEEN  AT  ST.  THOMAS. 

The  town  of  Charlotte  is  built  on  three  hills,  from  the  sum 
mits  of  which  beautiful  views  of  the  harbor  and  the  island  are 
obtained.  One  of  the  features  of  the  scene  is  a  rock,  called 
Frenchman's  Cap.  It  is  almost  perpendicular,  and  is,  I  believe, 
considered  dangerous  to  shipping.  Scorpion  Rock  is  inhabited 
only  by  the  horrid  reptiles  from  which  it  takes  its  name.  The}^ 
are  unusually  abundant  there,  and  for  that  reason  it  is  gener- 


564  A  HAUNT  OF  BLOCKADE- RUNNERS. 

ally  given  a  wide  berth,  as  no  one  cares  to  make  its  intimate 
acquaintance. 

The  principal  fortifications  of  St.  Thomas  are  Fort  Chris 
tiana,  and  Prince  Federick's  and  Mohlenfel's  batteries.  These 
are  occupied  by  a  small  force  of  Danish  soldiers,  who  are 
clean  and  tidy  looking,  but  otherwise  are  not  remarkable  in 
appearance. 

It  was  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Christiana  that  the  blockade- 
runners  were  accustomed  to  receive  their  carg'oes ;  and,  not 
withstanding  the  supposed  vigilance  of  the  United  States 
fleet,  most  of  them  managed  to  get  off  in  safety.  On  my 
former  visit  to  St.  Thomas,  one  of  the  Federal  officers  was 
pointed  out  to  me  as  being  in  the  trade  himself.  On  one  oc 
casion,  at  least,  where  the  consul  notified  him,  he  permitted  a 
vessel,  with  a  contraband  cargo,  to  put  to  sea,  and  did  not 
pretend  to  give  chase  until  she  was  so  far  away  that  there 
was  no  hope  of  overtaking  her. 

As  the  reader  will,  perhaps,  remember,  on  the  occasion  of 
my  previous  visit  to  St.  Thomas,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  Confederate  cruiser  Florida  come  in,  and  coal,  and  get  away 
again  in  safety,  through  a  clever  trick  played  upon  the  Fed 
erals.  The  Florida  took  in  her  coal  and  supplies  at  the  King's 
wharf,  and  when  she  was  ready  for  sea,  one  of  the  sailors,  pre 
tending  to  be  an  Englishman,  went  to  the  consul,  Mr.  Smith, 
and  told  him,  that  as  they  were  coming  in  they  saw  the  Florida 
off  to  the  westward  of  the  island.  Mr.  Smith,  accordingly, 
gave  orders  to  the  Federal  man-of-war  to  go  out  and  look  for 
her,  and  so  soon  as  the  Federal  cruiser  was  out  of  the  harbor, 
and  heading  westward,  Captain  Maffitt,  having  steam  up,  put 
on  all  speed  and  went  out  after  her.  Before  the  Federal 
commander  discovered  that  he  had  been  duped,  the  Florida 
was  out  of  sight  and  out  of  danger. 

The  Danish  commandant  told  me  that  he  was  heartily  sorry 
the  war  closed  so  soon,  for  the  people  of  St.  Thomas  profited 
greatly  by  it.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  could  the  South 
have  held  out  for  another  year,  the  great  powers  of  Europe 
would  have  interfered  in  her  behalf,  and  she  would  have  se 
cured  her  independence. 

Through  the  exertions  of  my  friends  to  make  my  visit  to 
St.  Thomas  a  pleasant  one,  the  time  passed  rapidly,  and  when 
the  arrival  of  the  steamer  Pelyo  gave  me  warning  that  I  must 
prepare  for  my  departure,  I  would  gladly  have  prolonged  my 
stay  for  a  number  of  days  more,  had  it  been  possible  to  do  so. 


AT   SANTIAGO   DE   CUBA.  565 

The  time  of  leave-taking  was  come,  however,  and  I  was  es 
corted  on  board  the  steamer  by  quite  a  large  party,  many  of 
whom,  as  I  said  good  by,  eagerly  requested  me  to  correspond 
with  them,  and  to  keep  them  posted  about  my  movements  ;  as 
they  expected  that  I  would  scarcely  be  satisfied  unless  I  un 
dertook  some  strange  adventures. 

The  steamer  stopped  at  Porto  Rico,  but  I  did  not  go  on 
shore,  not  liking  the  looks  of  the  place.  '  We  only  remained 
for  a  few  hours  to  take  in  some  freight  and  passengers,  and 
then  were  off  to  sea  again.  Among  the  passengers  was  a 
young  Spanish  officer,  Captain  F.  Martinez,  whom  I  had  met 
before,  and  who  knew  that  I  had  served  in  the  Confederate 
army.  He  came  up  to  me,  and  gave  an  officer's  salute,  at 
which  I  laughed,  and  held  out  my  hand  to  him,  saying  that 
the  time  for  that  sort  of  thing  had  passed.  We  then  fell  into 
an  animated  conversation  about  the  war,  and  other  matters ; 
and  during  the  rest  of  the  trip  he  paid  me  every  attention  in 
his  power. 

As  we  were  promenading  the  deck  together  in  the  evening, 
he  informed  me  that  he  was  engaged  to  a  young  lady  in  San 
tiago  de  Cuba,  and  he  was  very  solicitous  that  I  should  stop 
there  and  see  her.  I  was  not  unwilling,  as  I  had  relations 
residing  near  the  city  whom  I  was  anxious  to  visit ;  and  so  I 
made  arrangements  for  a  return  to  another  of  the  homes  of 
my  childhood. 

A  YISIT  TO  SANTIAGO  DE  CUBA. 

When  we  reached  Santiago,  I  called  with  Captain  Martinez 
upon  his  betrothed,  and  was  much  pleased  to  see  that  he  had 
made  so  excellent  a  choice.  The  young  lady  was  very  pretty 
and  amiable,  and  belonged  to  a  wealthy  family. 

Having  notified  my  cousin,  who  was  married  to  a  Prussian 
gentleman,  of  my  arrival,  I  went  out  to  her  home,  about  ten 
miles  in  the  country,  and  remained  a  day  or  two  with  her. 

In  the  city  I  was  waited  upon  by  many  distinguished  peo 
ple,  and  was  invited  to  dine  at  the  mansion  of  the  general  in 
command  of  the  Spanish  forces.  At  this  dinner  my  health 
was  proposed,  with  some  complimentary  remarks,  at  which 
honor  I  was  immensely  flattered ;  and  after  it  was  over, 
the  company  adjourned  to  the  grand  plaza,  to  listen  to  the 
military  band,  and  to  see  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  Santiago. 

Santiago  de  Cuba  is  a  very  old  town,  and  it  has  an  exten 
sive  commerce.  The  chief  exports  are  coffee,  sugar,  cigars, 


566  AT   HAVANA. 

and  fruit.  The  harbor  is  a  fine  one,  and  during  the  war  it 
was  a  favorite  resort  for  blockade-runners. 

The  day  after  the  dinner  at  the  general's  mansion,  I  went 
on  board  the  steamer  and  started  for  Havana.  That  city  was 
reached  in  due  time,  and  once  more  I  found  myself  on  familiar 
ground,  and  among  friends  who  were  ready  to  extend  me  a 
hearty  welcome  for  the  sake  of  old  times. 

My  brother's  family  and  other  relatives  resided  outside  of 
the  walls.  I  sent  them  word  of  my  arrival,  but  did  not  go  to 
the  house,  on  account  of  differences  with  my  sister-in-law. 
During  my  stay  in  Havana  my  brother  visited  me  frequently, 
as  did  also  my  niece,  —  my  sister's  daughter,  —  and  my  nephew, 
who  acted  as  my  escort  to  the  theatre  and  other  places. 

In  addition  to  my  relatives,  I  had  many  acquaintances  in 
Havana  who  were  glad  to  extend  the  hospitalities  of  the  place 
to  me.  Among  others,  General  Juaquin  Mansana,  and  the 
officers  of  his  staff,  were  all  warm  friends  of  mine,  and  they 
seemed  never  to  tire  of  paying  me  attentions.  I  was  also 
acquainted  with  a  great  number  of  people  with  whom  I  had 
had  confidential  business  relations  during  the  war ;  and  they, 
too,  did  what  they  could  to  make  the  time  pass  pleasantly. 

ONCE  MORE  IN  MALE  ATTIRE. 

Shortly  after  I  reached  Havana,  there  was  a  grand  religious 
festival,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  General  Mansana,  I  con 
sented  to  appear  in  the  procession  in  uniform.  The  general, 
enjoining  me  to  keep  the  matter  a  secret,  presented  me  with  a 
handsome  Spanish  military  suit.  I  attired  myself  in  this,  and 
arranging  my  disguise  so  that  my  most  intimate  friends  would 
not  know  me,  I  took  my  place  in  the  procession  in  a  carriage 
beside  Colonel  Montero,  which  drove  just  behind  that  of  the 
general. 

The  colonel  especially  requested  me  not  to  let  the  other 
officers  and  soldiers  know  who  I  was,  as  there  might  be  some 
excitement  created  if  any  one  suspected  that  a  woman,  dis 
guised  as  an  officer,  was  in  the  procession.  I  accordingly  kept 
my  secret,  and  was  not  recognized.  During  the  day  I  several 
times  passed  quite  close  to  Mr.  Savage,  the  United  States  con 
sul,  and  the  members  of  his  staff,  and  it  amused  the  general 
greatly  to  see  that  they  had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  as  to 
who  I  was.  I  was  also  introduced  to  a  number  of  ladies  as  a 
young  Spanish  officer,  who  had  been  educated  in  England. 


I 

lTOIIIili.  ___      l 


GENERAL   MANS  AN  A   TAKEN   SICK.  567 

This  plea  was  put  in  on  my  behalf,  because  my  Spanish  accent 
was  none  of  the  best,  my  long  non-use  of  the  language  having 
caused  me  to  lose  the  faculty  of  speaking  it  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  do  entire  credit  to  my  ancestry. 

This  procession  took  place  on  Friday,  and  General  Mansana, 
as  we  were  about  starting  out,  told  me  that  there  was  a  steamer 
in  the  harbor  with  some  emigrants  on  board,  who  were  going  to 
South  America.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  not  see  them,  and, 
by  relating  my  experiences,  try  and  persuade  them  to  return 
home  again.  This  I  promised  to  do. 

In  the  evening,  after  the  ceremonies  were  over,  we  went  to 
the  theatre,  where  we  found  quite  a  brilliant  audience  assem 
bled.  Before  the  performance  was  over,  General  Mansana 
said  that  he  was  hungry,  and  retired.  The  rest  of  the  party  re 
mained  until  the  curtain  fell,  when  we  went  to  a  restaurant  and 
had  supper.  After  supper  we  drove  to  the  Plaza  de  Armas, 
where  a  room  had  been  assigned  me  in  the  palace,  and  I 
changed  my  costume  as  rapidly  as  I  could,  appearing  once 
more  in  female  attire. 

ILLNESS  OF  GENERAL  MANSANA. 

As  I  was  coming  out,  Colonel  Montero  met  me  in  the  hall, 
and  said  that  the  general  had  been  taken  quite  sick.  I  asked 
if  I  could  see  him ;  and  on  a  messenger  being  sent,  word  was 
conveyed  to  the  colonel  that  the  general  wished  to  speak  with 
him.  He  soon  returned,  and  invited  me  to  go  into  the  sick 
chamber.  The  general  was  in  bed,  and  the  doctor  was  in  at 
tendance  on  him.  He  complained  of  severe  cramps,  but  did 
not  think  that  anything  serious  was  the  matter,  and  invited 
me  to  call  on  him  the  next  morning,  when  he  expected  to  be 
better. 

After  breakfast,  the  next  morning,  I  went  to  the  general's 
quarters  ;  but  the  guard  had  orders  not  to  admit  any  one.  I 
sent  in  my  card,  however,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  chief  of 
staff  came  down  and  asked  me  to  walk  up  to  the  reception- 
room.  The  surgeon  in  attendance  made  his  appearance,  and 
said  that  the  general  was  worse  instead-  of  better ;  but  that  I 
could  see  him  if  I  would  promise  not  to  speak.  I  accordingly 
went  into  the  sick-room,  and  found  the  general  looking  very 
bad  indeed.  He  smiled  at  me,  and  seemed  to  be  glad  that  I 
had  called.  I  then  retired,  as  I  found  that  I  could  be  of  no 
assistance,  and  went  to  see  the  emigrants. 


568  ANOTHER   PARTY  OF  EMIGRANTS. 

I  gave  them  an  account  of  my  experiences  and  observations 
in  South  America,  and  advised  them,  in  the  strongest  possible 
terms,  not  to  pursue  their  journey  any  farther,  but  to  return 
home ;  and,  if  they  wanted  to  get  away  from  the  South,  to 
go  West.  Some  of  them  were  much  impressed  with  what  I 
said,  and  came  on  shore  to  see  me.  I  invited  them  to  the  ho 
tel  to  take  dinner,  and  went  into  the  matter  more  particularly, 
showing  them  the  great  risks  they  would  run,  and  the  small 
chance  they  would  have  of  establishing  themselves  in  a  satis 
factory  manner. 

This  interference  on  my  part  was  bitterly  resented  by  some 
of  the  leaders  of  the  expedition,  who  expressed  a  desire  that 
I  should  not  come  on  board  the  steamer  again.  I  had  no 
wish  to  do  this,  having  performed  my  duty,  and  I  was  willing 
now  that  they  should  take  their  own  course  and  abide  the  con 
sequences  ;  although  I  was  sorry  for  some  of  the  poor  women, 
who  I  knew  would  regret  not  having  followed  my  advice. 

My  expostulations  proved  of  no  avail,  and  the  steamer  sailed 
for  South  America,  after  her  old,  worn-out  and  worthless  boiler 
had  been  patched.  The  vessel  itself,  like  the  boiler,  was  worn 
out,  and  they  were  obliged  to  put  in  at  St.  Thomas  with  her, 
and  charter  another  boat.  Some  of  the  people,  I  believe,  re 
turned  to  the  United  States  from  St.  Thomas,  while  the  rest 
were  glad  to  get  back  the  best  way  they  could,  after  a  very 
brief  experience  of  Para,  the  port  for  which  they  were  bound. 
After  reaching  their  destination,  and'  endeavoring  to  effect  a 
settlement,  they  very  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  my 
advice  was  good. 

On  Sunday  morning  I  learned,  to  my  infinite  sorrow,  that 
General  Mans'ana  was  dead  !  The  funeral  took  place  the  next 
day,  and  the  body,  having  been  embalmed,  was  carried  through 
the  streets,  followed  by  his  carriage,  dressed  in  crape,  and  his 
favorite  horse.  The  funeral  was  an  imposing  but  sorrowful 
spectacle,  for  the  general  was  a  good  man ;  and  although,  like 
other  public  men,  he  had  his  enemies,  he  deserved  and  en 
joyed  a  great  popularity. 

With  this  visit  to  Havana  concluded  my  trip  to  South 
America  and  the  West  Indies.  In  some  of  its  aspects  it  was 
far  from  being  enjoyable ;  and  yet,  on  the  whole,  I  managed 
to  have  a  pretty  good  time,  and  I  did  not  regret  the  journey. 
I  had  learned  a  great  deal  about  a  part  of  the  world  that  it 
was  worth  while  to  know  something  about,  and  I  had  met  a 
great  many  good  friends  whom  I  was  exceedingly  glad  to 


THE  ENDING   OF  THE  TRIP.  569 

meet.  Taking  it  all  in  all,  the  pleasures  of  the  trip  far  more 
than  counterbalanced  its  disagreeable  features,  and  the  main 
thing  I  had  to  complain  of  was,  that  I  returned  to  the  United 
States  with  a  much  lighter  pocket-book  than  when  I  set  out. 

Shortly  after  General  Mansana's  death  I  took  the  steamer 
for  the  United  States,  and  was  soon  in  New  York,  making  but 
one  brief  stoppage  at  Matanzas  on  the  way. 


CHAPTER    L. 

ACROSS   THE   CONTINENT. 

Across  the  Continent  in  search  of  a  Fortune.  —  Omaha.  —  A  Meeting 
with  the  veteran  General  Harney.  —  Governor  C.  asks  me  to  introduce 
him  to  the  General.  —  The  Backwoodsman  and  the  veteran  Soldier.  — 
The  General  induces  me  to  tell  the  Story  of  my  Career,  and  gives  me 
some  good  Advice.  —  Off  for  a  long  Stage-coach  Ride.  —  Rough  Fellow- 
Travellers.  —  An  unmannerly  Army  Officer  taught  Politeness.  —  Jules- 
burg.  —  An  undesirable  Place  for  a  permanent  Residence.  —  An  atrocious 
Murder.  —  More  unpleasant  travelling  Companions.  —  Cheyenne.  —  A 
frontier  Hotel. —  Lack  of  even  decent  Accommodations.  —  An  unde 
sirable  Bedfellow.  —  A  Visit  to  Laporte.  —  Again  on  the  Road.  —  A 
Water-Spout  in  Echo  Canon.  —  The  Coach  caught  in  a  Quicksand.  — 
Mormon  Hospitalities.  —  Salt  Lake  City.  — Arrival  at  the  City  of  Austin, 
Nevada. 

.^ 

N  my  return  to  the  United  States,  I  found  the 
financial  and  political  situations,  especially  at 
the  South,  more  deplorable  than  ever.  The 
era  of  true  reconstruction  seemed  to  be  even 
farther  off  than  it  did  when  Lee  surrendered, 
and  the  freedmen  and  carpet-baggers  were  having  things 
completely  their  own  way  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  late  Confederacy.  The  people  were 
oppressed  and  harried  without  mercy  and  without  hope 
of  redress  by  the  black  and  white  adventurers  whom 
the  fortunes  of  war  had  given  the  control  of  their  affairs, 
and  it  was  very  apparent  that  there  could  be  no  revival  of 
business  worth  speaking  of  while  such  a  state  of  affairs  ex 
isted.  I  greatly  desired  to  settle  in  the  South,  but  my  own 
fortunes  were  at  a  low  ebb,  and  I  saw  very  plainly  that  if  I 
expected  to  improve  them  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  else 
where. 

After  giving  the  matter  mature  consideration,  and  making 
inquiries  in  a  number  of  quarters,  I  determined  to  try  my 
luck  in  the  mining  regions  of  the  Pacific  slope,  as  they  seemed 
to  hold  out  inducements  that  no  other  part  of  the  country 
did.  Apart,  however,  from  all  questions  of  pecuniary  profit,  I 

570 


AN   OLD  FRIEND.  571 

was  animated  by  a  strong  desire  to  explore  for  myself  a  terri 
tory  concerning  which  I  had  heard  so  much. 

Having  once  resolved  to  cross  the  continent  in  search  of  a 
home,  I  did  not  stop  to  make  many  or  very  elaborate  prepa 
rations,  being  too  old  a  traveller  to  encumber  myself  with  an 
excess  of  baggage.  Purchasing  a  ticket  for  Omaha,  I  was 
soon  on  my  way  to  that  place  by  the  Niagara,  Fort  Wayne, 
and  Chicago  route. 

At  Omaha  I  found  snow  on  the  ground,  and  the  weather 
quite  cold,  too  cold  for  one  who  had  just  come  from  a  tropical 
climate  to  venture  on  a  stage  journey  of  many  hundred  miles, 
through  the  wilderness  with  no  thicker  or  warmer  clothing 
than  that  which  I  had  with  me.  I  was  now  in  somewhat  of  a 
predicament,  and  began  to  regret  that  I  had  trusted  quite 
so  much  to  my  travellers  luck,  and  had  not  furnished  myself 
with  a  more  comfortable  outfit. 

I  went  to  a  dry  goods  store  to  purchase  some  woollen  un 
derclothing,  but  was  unable  to  procure  any.  Fortunately,  at 
the  International  Hotel,  where  I  was  stopping,  there  was  a 
lady  who  intended  to  remain  at  Omaha  for  some  time,  and 
when  she  learned  of  my  difficulties,  offered  to  sell  me  hers. 
This  offer  I  accepted  without  hesitation,  and  thus,  by  the 
merest  chance,  found  myself  equipped  in  proper  style  for  my 
long  and  tedious  journey  and  its  necessary  exposures  to  the 
weather. 

RENEWING  MY  ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  GENERAL  HARNEY. 

At  the  International  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  an  old 
friend  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  a  number  of  years,  and  with 
whom  it  was  a  pleasure  of  the  most  genuine  kind  to  renew 
my  acquaintance.  This  was  the  veteran  soldier,  General  W. 
S.  Harney.  He  was,  apparently,  as  glad  to  see  me  as  I  was 
to  see  him,  and  insisted  on  escorting  me  in  to  dinner,  rather,  I 
think,  to  the  astonishment  of  some  of  the  guests. 

The  general  had  a  special  table  for  himself  and  friends,  and 
as  we  took  our  seats  the  eyes  of  everybody  in  the  room  were 
fixed  on  us.  The  dinner  was  a  good  one  in  its  way,  the  bill 
of  fare  being  largely  made  up  of  buffalo  and  antelope  meat, 
and  various  kinds  of  game,  and,  as  I  was  desperately  hungry, 
I  enjoyed  it  greatly.  While  we  were  dining  the  general 
chatted  very  freely,  and  narrated  many  curious  incidents  of 
his  career  in  the  army,  and  expressed  his  views  on  the  late 


572  A   MODEL   STATESMAN. 

war  with  the  utmost  freedom.  He  said  that  he  was  a  true 
Southerner  in  his  sympathies,  and  that  his  extreme  age  alone 
had  prevented  him  from  offering  his  services  to  the  Con 
federacy.  He,  however,  had  helped  the  cause  as  much  as 
he  could  with  his  means  and  influence,  and  his  only  regret 
was  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 
great  conflict. 

General  Haruey,  it  appears,  had  heard  some  mention  of  my 
adventures,  and  was  very  anxious  to  ask  me  about  them.  He 
did  not,  however,  think  that  the  dinner-table  of  the  Interna 
tional  Hotel  of  Omaha  was  exactly  the  suitable  place  to  bring 
up  a  subject  about  which  1  might  have  some  hesitation  in 
speaking,  and  so  deferred  asking  me  any  questions  until  a 
better  opportunity  oifered. 

When  we  returned  to  the  drawing-room  I  met  some  St.  Louis 
people  whom  I  knew,  and,  engaging  in  conversation  with  them, 
the  general  politely  asked  to  be  excused,  and  said  that  he 
would  like  very  much"  to  have  a  conversation  with  me  in  his 
private  parlor  after  four  o'clock. 

When  he  was  gone,  Governor  C.,  a  tall,  lank,  shambling 
backwoodsman,  stalked  up  to  me,  and,  in  an  awkward  sort  of  a 
way,  introduced  himself.  He  desired  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  General  Harney,  and  wished  to  know  if  I  would  not  do  the 
"  polite  thing  "  for  him,  that  is,  give  him  an  introduction  to 
the  general.  It  struck  me  that,  considering  his  official  posi 
tion,  he  might  as  well  have  introduced  himself;  but,  as  he 
apparently  did  not  know  how  to  do  this  gracefully,  I  told  him 
that  if  the  general  was  willing,  he  and  the  governor  should 
become  acquainted  after  four  o'clock,  if  he  would  meet  me  in 
the  drawing-room. 

At  the  appointed  hour  I  descended  from  my  room,  where  I 
had  been  arranging  my  toilet,  and  found  this  model  specimen 
of  a  statesman  pacing  uneasily  backwards  and  forwards  in 
the  hall,  waiting  for  me.  For  a  wonder,  his  hat  was  in  his 
hand  instead  of  on  his  head,  which  I  took  to  be  an  indication 
that  his  mother  had  taught  him  one  or  two  points  of  etiquette 
in  his  youth,  which  he  had  managed  to  retain  in  his  memory. 

When  he  saw  me,  he  came  shambling  up  with  that  queer 
gait  of  his,  and  said,  with  a  grin,  "  I  am  on  hand,  you  see ;  we 
western  men  are  generally  prompt  when  we  have  engage 
ments  with  the  fair  sex." 

"  Yes,  I  see  you  are  punctual ;  it  is  a  good  habit.  I  once 
knew  a  man  who  made  a  large  fortune  by  punctuality." 


GENERAL  BARNEY'S  ADVICE.  573 

"Haw,  haw,  haw!"  Soared  the  governor,  stretching  his 
mouth  nearly  from  ear  to  ear.  "  That's  pretty  good.  All  of 
us  people  out  here  are  trying  to  make  fortunes,  and  to  make 
7em  quick  ;  so  I  guess  we'd  better  make  a  point  of  being  punc 
tual.  Haw,  haw,  haw  !  " 

I  then  led  him  to  the  general's  private  parlor  without  more 
ado,  and  gave  the  desired  introduction.  • 

This  ceremony  performed,  the  governor  evidently  did  not 
know  what  to  say  or  do,  but  after  a  moment's  hesitation 
he  extended  his  hand,  and  seizing  that  of  the  general,  shook 
it  as  if  he  were  working  a  pump-handle.  The  general,  who 
understood  what  kind  of  a  customer  he  had  to  deal  with, 
stood  up  and  saluted  his  new  friend  with  a  characteristic 
gesture,  and  passed  a  few  formal  words  with  him.  After  a 
very  brief  conversation,  the  governor,  impressed  by  the  gen 
eral's  peculiar  manner,  and  appreciating  the  force  of  the 
maxim  that  "  two  are  company  and  three  a  crowd,"  said  that 
he  would  give  himself  the  pleasure  of  calling  again,  and 
bowed  himself  out. 

When  we  were  alone,  in  compliance  with  the  general's  re 
quest,  I  gave  him  an  account  of  my  adventures  while  "acting 
as  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  army  and  as  a  secret-service 
agent.  He  appeared  to  be  intensely  interested,  and  frequently 
interrupted  me  to  ask  questions,  or  to  express  commendation. 
We  conversed  for  two  hours,  when  the  announcement  was 
made  that  supper  was  ready. 

After  supper  we  returned  to  the  private  parlor  again,  and 
I  explained  my  plans  for  the  future,  and  asked  his  advice. 
This  lie  gave  in  the  kindest  manner ;  and,  as  his  experience 
of  affairs  in  the  West,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  western  coun 
try  and  people  was  most  extensive,  it  was  extremely  valuable 
to  me. 

He  said  that  I  was  a  young  woman  yet,  and  that  I  would, 
undoubtedly,  have  offers  of  marriage ;  but,  for  my  own  sake, 
he  hoped  that  if  I  did  marry  again,  I  would  choose  the  right 
kind  of  a  man,  and  not  permit  myself  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
some  adventurer.  He  thought  that  I  was  taking  a  great  risk 
in  going  out  to  the  mining  region,  and  believed  that  it  would 
be  much  better  for  me  to  settle  in  my  native  island,  or  else 
somewhere  in  the  South.  After  all  that  I  had  done  for  the 
South,  he  said  that  I  ought  to  be  able  to  live  there  like  a 
princess. 

I  told  him,  however,  that  the  idea  of  receiving  any  assist- 


574  OFF   FOR   A   LONG   RIDE. 

ance  from  the  Southern  people,  situated  as  they  were,  was 
most  abhorrent  to  me,  and  that,  as  I  was  young  and  in  good 
health,  I  preferred  to  seek  my  own  fortune  and  in  my  own 
way. 

"  Have  you  any  arms  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Yes,  two  strong  ones,"  I  replied,  holding  them  out. 

The  general  laughed,  and  said,  "  Yes,  those  will  be  of  ser 
vice  to  you  if  you  are  going  to  seek  your  fortune,  but  out 
among  the  mines  you  will  need  arms  of  another  kind." 

He  then  gave  me  a  revolver,  saying  that  I  might  have  need 
for  it,  and  also  a  buffalo  robe  and  a  pair  of  blankets,  which  he 
was  certain  I  would  find  useful. 

That  night  I  slept  but  little,  thinking  of  the  general's  ad 
vice,  and  of  the  unknown  future  before  me.  Towards  morning 
I  fell  into  something  like  a  doze,  but  before  I  was  fairly  asleep 
I  was  called,  and  told  that  it  was  time  to  get  ready  for  the 
stage. 

I  found  General  Harney  up  and  waiting  for  me.  We  took 
breakfast  together ;  and  as  I  got  up  to  go  to  the  stage,  he 
said,  "  Remember  the  advice  of  your  best  friend.  I  only 
wish  that  I  was  thirty-five  years  younger ;  you  should  not 
make  this  journey  alone." 

This  was  so  flattering  that  I  could  not  help  permitting  my 
wishes  to  run  in  the  same  channel. 


OFF   FOR   A   RlDE   ACROSS   THE  PLAINS. 

After  I  was  seated  in  the  back  of  the  coach,  snugly  wrapped 
up  in  my  blankets  and  buffalo  robe,  a  basket  of  eatables  was 
handed  in  to  me,  and  just  as  we  were  about  to  start  the  general 
leaned  in,  and,  kissing  me  on  the  forehead,  said,  "  Farewell, 
my  child  ;  if  we  should  never  meet  again,  God  will  take  care 
of  you ;  "  and  then  turning  to  the  driver,  he  told  him  to  take 
good  care  of  me,  as  I  was  a  particular  friend  of  his. 

The  driver  said,  "  All  right,  sir ;  1  will  look  after  her ;  "  and, 
cracking  his  whip,  off  we  went,  with  nearly  half  the  continent 
yet  before  me  to  be  travelled  before  my  journey  should  be 
ended. 

My  travelling  companions  were  a  rather  rough  set.  The 
men  on  the  front  seat  —  who  proved  to  be,  what  I  took  them 
for,  mountaineers  —  had  some  whiskey,  of  which  they  partook 
rather  more  freely  than  was  good  for  them,  and  they  were  a 
little  inclined  to  be  boisterous.  They  did  not  make  them- 


ARRIVAL   AT   JULESBURG.  575 

selves  disagreeable  to  me,  however,  and  were  evidently 
inclined  to  be  on  their  good  behavior  on  account  of  a  lady 
being  present.  In  spite  of  their  rough  manners  they  were 
better  gentlemen  than  the  fellow  who  sat  next  to  me,  and  who 
wore  more  stylish  clothes  than  they  did.  They  used  no  black 
guard  language  or  profanity,  and  showed  a  disposition  to  be 
attentive  to  me  whenever  they  had  an  opportunity. 

This  other  man,  however,  swore  fearfully,  and,  in  spite  of 
my  being  on  the  seat  with  him,  made  use  of  language  such  as 
no  true  gentleman  would  degrade  himself  by  using  under  any 
circumstances.  At  length,  noticing  the  expression  of  disgust 
on  my  face,  one  of  the  mountaineers  on  the  front  seat,  said, 
"  See  here,  old  chap,  just  remember  there  is  a  female  aboard 
this  stage-coach,  will  you  ?  " 

The  other  replied,  "  I  am  a  captain  in  the  United  States 
army,  sir,  and  I  wish  you  to  respect  my  commission." 

SIMMERING  DOWN. 

"  I  don't  care  a  d — n  who  you  are/'  said  one  of  them,  called 
Bill  by  his  companions.  "  You  simmer  down  mighty  quick  ;  " 
and  with  that  he  took  him  by  the  throat  and  choked  him  till 
he  was  nearly  black  in  the  face. 

This  treatment  was  effectual,  and  he  did  simmer  down ;  and 
I  was  annoyed  no  more  by  him  during  the  balance  of  the 
trip,  while  Bill  and  his  friends  earned  my  hearty  respect  de 
spite  their  rough  ways,  and  their  over-fondness  for  whiskey- 
drinking. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  rough  and  toilsome  ride 
over  the  plains.  It  was  scarcely  such  a  journey  as  one  would 
make  for  a  mere  pleasure  trip,  and  yet  it  was  one  worth  making, 
if  only  for  the  reason  that  it  afforded  an  opportunity  to  study, 
with  some  minuteness,  a  country  that  ere  many  years  will 
probably  be  the  seat  of  empire  on  this  continent.  Much  of 
this  land  between  Omaha  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  is, 
undoubtedly,  capable  of  great  improvement  under  a  proper 
system  of  cultivation,  and  that  it  ultimately  will  be  settled 
and  improved  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Just  at  present,  how 
ever,  there  are  more  inviting  regions  to  which  settlers  may  be 
expected  to  flock  in  preference. 

In  course  of  time  we  arrived  at  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
products  of  Western  civilization,  —  the  town  of  tents,  called 
Julesburg.  I  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  life,  and  a  great  deal 


576  NOT   A   NICE   PLACE   TO   LIVE   IN. 

of  rough  life ;  but  when  I  beheld  this  place,  I  thought  that  I 
would  prefer  to  be  excused  from  choosing  it  as  a  permanent 
residence.  In  fact,  a  very  brief  stay  in  Julesburg  was  emi 
nently  satisfying,  and  I  was  quite  content  to  leave  it,  with  a 
hope  in  my  heart  that  I  would  never  be  compelled  to  find 
myself  within  sight  of  it  again. 

THE  DELIGHTS  OF  JULESBURG. 

Card-playing  and  whiskey-drinking,  embellished  with  blas 
phemy,  seemed  to  be  the  chief  occupations  of  the  Julesburg 
citizens,  while  murder  was  their  commonest  amusement. 
Many  of  these  men  had  been  brought  up  and  educated  in 
civilized  communities,  and  knew  what  decent  living  was ;  and 
yet,  so  soon  as  they  would  get  out  here,  they  would  throw 
off  all  restraint,  and  develop  into  worse  savages  than  the  red 
men.  Such  a  collection,  of  fiends  in  human  shape  as  Jules- 
burg  was  at  the  time  I  visited  the  place,  I  hope  never  to 
see  again.  The  women  were,  if  anything,  worse  than  the 
men,  and  I  did  not  meet  more  than  two  of  my  own  sex  while 
I  was  there  who  made  the  most  distant  claims  to  even  common 
decency  or  self-respect. 

The  reckless  bloodthirstiness  of  most  of  the  men  baffles 
description.  Pistols  and  knives  were  produced  on  the  slight 
est  provocation,  and  often  on  no  provocation  at  all,  and  no  ties 
of  friendship  appeared  to  be  strong  enough  to  check  the 
murderous  propensities  of  some  of  the  ruffians. 

While  standing  in  the  -board  shanty,  which  was  dignified 
by  the  name  of  a  station,  waiting  for  the  stage  to  come  up,  I 
saw  a  fiend,  in  human  shape,  deliberately  shoot  down  a  young 
man  of  about  twenty  years  of  age.  While  his  victim  was 
writhing  on  the  ground,  he  stepped  up  and  fired  two  more 
shots  into  his  prostrate  body,  and  then,  pulling  out  a  huge 
knife,  was  about  to  cut  his  throat.  Two  of  the  murderer's 
comrades,  who  seemed  to  have  a  little  humanity  in  them,  now 
interfered,  but  only  to  have  him  turn  upon  them,  with  his  eyes 
flashing  with  fury  and  his  mouth  full  of  oaths.  I  expected  to 
see  a  general  free  fight,  but  the  fellow,  apparently  satisfied 
with  his  bloody  work,  permitted  himself  finally  to  be  persuaded 
to  leave  his  victim  and  go  away.  I  had  witnessed  many 
shocking  scenes,  but  nothing  so  atrocious  as  this,  and  I  was 
heartily  glad  when  the  stage  shortly  after  drove  up,  and  I  was 
able  to  say  farewell  to  Julesburg. 


A   DISGRACE   TO    HER   SEX.  577 

It  is  clue  to  these  desperadoes,  however,  to  say  that  they 
are  not  entirely  without  some  good  qualities.  When  they 
have  any  reason  to  think  that  a  woman  is  really  respectable 
they  will  protect  her,  and  they  are  always  free  with  their 
money,  and  ready  to  help  any  one  who  may  be  in  distress. 
Their  vices,  however,  so  far  outnumber  their  virtues,  that 
their  good  deeds  will  scarcely  count  for  much  when  they  are 
called  upon  to  settle  their  final  accounts. 

A  HARD  SET  OF  TRAVELLING  COMPANIONS. 

My  companions  of  the  stas;e  coach,  as  we  rolled  out  of 
Julesburg,  were  a  rougher  and  more  unpleasant  set  than  the 
first  party,  and  one  of  the  most  disagreeable  among  them 
was,  I  ain  ashamed  to  say,  a  woman.  The  men  were  tolerably 
full  when  we  started,  and  we  were  scarcely  off  before  they 
produced  a  bottle,  and,  after  taking  some  of  the  fearful  smell 
ing  whiskey  which  it  contained,  passed  it  around.  1  begged 
to  be  excused  from  partaking,  but  the  other  female  passenger 
was  not  so  fastidious,  and  she  took  a  good  drink  every  time  it 
was  handed  to  her.  Her  whiskey-drinking  capacity  was 
great,  equal  to  that  of  any  of  the  men. 

The  language  this  woman  used  was  frightful,  and  she  seemed 
to  be  unable  to  open  her  lips  without  uttering  some  blasphe 
mous  or  obscene  expression.  Finally,  having  taken  eight  or 
nine  big  drinks  from  the  bottle,  she  became  stupidly  drunk ; 
and  then,  to  vary  the  monotony  of  her  proceedings,  she  pro 
duced  a  filthy  pipe,  which  she  filled  with  the  blackest  plug 
tobacco,  and  commenced  to  smoke.  The  fumes  from  this  pipe 
were  sickening  to  me,  but  I  was  willing  to  let  her  smoke  in 
peace,  for  it  at  least  kept  her  quiet,  and  soothed  her  until  she- 
fell  into  a  deep  and  drunken  sleep. 

In  this  fashion  we  rolled  along  until  we  came  to  Cheyenne,, 
which  appeared  to  be  quite  a  town,  and  a  decided  improve 
ment  on  Julesburg.  A  number  of  moderately  good-looking 
houses  were  already  occupied,  while  others  were  in  process 
of  erection,  and  everything  seemed  to  indicate  that  this,  in  a 
short  time,  was  likely  to  be  a  really  thriving  place.  The  driver 
pulled  up  his  horses,  shouting,  "  Cheyenne  House  !  "  and  out 
the  occupants  of  the  stage  coach  tumbled,  the  drunken  woman 
and  all,  although  she  was  so  far  gone  that  one  of  the  men  was 
forced  to  almost  lift  her  out,  to  prevent  her  from  falling  flat 
on  the  ground. 

37 


578         HOTEL  ACCOMMODATIONS  AT  CHEYENNE. 

The  Cheyenne  House,  in  spite  of  its  rather  imposing  name, 
was,  taking  it  all  in  all,  the  worst  apology  for  a  hotel  I  had 
ever  met  with  in  the  course  of  my  rather  extensive  travels. 
It  was  a  frame  building,  of  the  rudest  construction,  while  the 
lodging  rooms  —  about  eight  by  ten  feet  in  size  —  were  merely 
separated  from  each  other  by  canvas  partitions,  which  ren 
dered  any  real  privacy  an  absolute  impossibility.'  The  beds, 
or  rather  the  bunks,  in  these  rooms  were  large  enough  for  two 
persons,  and  it  was  expected  that  two  persons  would  occupy 
each  of  them,  .the  luxury  of  a  single  bed  being  something 
unheard  of  in  that  locality.  The  mattresses  and  pillows  were 
made  of  flour  bags,  —  the  miller's  brands  still  on  them, — 
stuffed  with  straw,  and  the  coverlets  were  a  pair  of  gray 
army  blankets,  with  "  U.  S.  A."  plainly  marked  —  undoubtedly 
the  plunder  of  some  rascally  quartermaster  who  was  bent  on 
making  his  residence  on  the  frontier  pay  him  handsomely, 
even  if  he  had  to  cheat  the  government. 

On  entering  the  hotel;  we  were  ushered  into  a  good-sized 
room,  the  floor  being  made  of  the  roughest  pine  boards,  from 
which  the  tar  exuded  in  thick  and  sticky  lumps.  A  large 
railroad  stove,  heated  red  hot,  was  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
and  was  surrounded  by  a  motley  crowd  of  men,  who  were 
sitting  in  every  describable  posture,  smoking,  chewing,  spit 
ting,  and  blaspheming  in  a  style  that  indicated  a  total  ignorance 
on  their  part  of  the  fact  that  they  had  souls  to  be  saved,  It 
was  impossible  to  get  near  the  stove,  although  it  was  quite 
cold,  for  none  of  these  men  offered  to  move,  and  seemed  to 
consider  a  poor  little  woman,  like  myself,  as  something  entirely 
beneath  their  notice. 

To  my  great  satisfaction  I  did  not  have  to  remain  long  in 
this  choice  company,  for  supper  was  announced  as  ready 
within  a  few  moments  of  our  arrival.  I  requested  to  be 
shown  the  wash-room,  and,  on  reaching  it,  found  there  a  few 
old  tin  wash-basins,  all  of  which  were  vilely  dirty,  a  sardine 
box  with  a  lump  of  home-made  soap  in  it,  and  a  vile-looking 
tow  towel  on  a  roller,  which,  in  addition  to  being  utterly  filthy, 
did  not  have  a  dry  place  on  it  as  big  as  half  a  dollar.  Fortu 
nately  I  had  my  own  soap  and  towels  in  my  satchel,  and 
managed  to  perform  my  ablutions  in  a  moderately  satisfactory 
fashion.  As  for  the  basins  and  towels  belonging  to  the  place, 
I  should  not  have  hesitated  to  have  used  them,  rough  as  they 
were, 'had  they  been  moderately  clean,  for,  on  the  frontier, 
we  have  no  right  to  expect  the  accommodations  of  the  Grand 


ROUGHING   IT.  579 

Central  Hotel  of  New  York,  or  the  Hotel  de  Louvre  of  Pan':', 
and  must  expect  to  rough  it.  Still,  even  on  the  frontier,  soap 
and  water  are  cheap,  and  people  who  profess  to  keep  hotels, 
and  who  take  the  money  of  the  public,  ought  to  make  some 
effort  to  have  things  reasonably  neat  and  tidy. 

The  dining-room  was  like  the  rest  of  the  building,  of  the 
roughest  possible  construction.  The  table  was  covered  with 
a  dark  colored  oil-cloth,  full  of  grease  and  dirt,  and  the  sup 
per,  although  it  was  such  as  a  hungry  traveller  could  have 
relished  had  it  been  properly  prepared,  was  so  uninviting  in 
appearance  that  I  could  eat  but  little  of  it. 

Being  much  fatigued,  so  soon  as  I  had  swallowed  a  few 
mouthfuls  I  sought  my  room,  but,  on  arriving  there,  found,  to 
my  utter  astonishment,  that  the  woman  who  had  come  with 
me  in  the  stage  was  occupying  the  bed.  When  I  remon 
strated,  I  was  told  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  have  a 
room  to  myself,  and  speedily  found  that  I  either  had  to  submit 
or  else  pass  the  night  in  the  parlor  among  the  roughs  congre 
gated  there.  The- alternative  of  sharing  the  bed  with  my  fel 
low-traveller  was  preferable,  for  there  at  least  I  should  be  safe, 
as  the  room  was  over  the  landlord's  private  apartments,  while 
the  parlor  being  over  the  bar-room,  was  liable  to  have  a  bullet 
coming  through  the  floor  before  morning. 

1  accordingly  submitted  to  circumstances,  but  did  not 
obtain  much  satisfaction  from  jny  couch,  for,  independently  of 
its  unpleasant  human  occupant,  it  was  fairly  alive  with  vermin. 
My  companion,  however,  snored  away  in  happy  unconscious 
ness  of  any  such  disturbances,  being  stupefied  with  whiskey, 
and  overcome  by  the  fatigues  of  travel.  She  was  evidently 
accustomed  to  this  sort  of  thing,  and  was  not  disposed  to  be 
fastidious. 

The  next  morning  she  was  called  to  go  in  the  stage.  T 
having  determined  to  remain  for  a  day  or  two,  was  therefore 
to  part  company  with  her.  She  got  up,  and  I  was  surprised 
to  see  that  she  had  been  in  bed  all  night  without  removing 
any  of  her  clothing.  From  under  her  pillow  she  took  a  belt 
containing  a  formidable-looking  knife  and  a  six-shooter,  which 
she  buckled  around  her  waist,  and  as  she  did  so,  seeing  that  I 
was  awake,  asked,  in  a  sarcastic  sort  of  way,  "How  did  you 
sleep  ?  " 

"  Not  much,"  I  replied.  "  This  kind  of  a  bed  don't  suit 
me." 

"  Well,  I've  slept  too  d — d  much,"  she  said.     "  I  am  tired 


580  VISITING   THE   INDIANS. 

yet ;  I'd  as  lives  ?leep  on  a  board  or  a  rock  as  on  one  of  these 
d — d  old  straw  beds  ! " 

This  was  nice  language  for  a  woman  to  utter,  but  it  was 
nothing  in  comparison  to  some  that  I  had  heard  her  use  the 
day  before.  Soon,  to  my  infinite  relief,  this  delectable  crea 
ture  was  gone,  and  I  was  left  to  myself. 

After  breakfast  that  morning,  t  inquired  for  the  superin 
tendent  and  road  agent,  Mr.  Rube  Thomas,  but  learned  that 
he  was  not  in  the  town.  I  then  asked  for  Mr.  J.  Stewart, 
another  road  agent,  and  a  very  affable,  obliging  gentleman. 
This  gentleman  was,  fortunately  for  me,  in  Cheyenne,  and  he 
waited  on  me  very  promptly  when  he  received  my  message, 
and  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  do  anything  in  his  power 
to  assist  me. 

I  desired  to  go  to  Camp  Davy  Russell,  and  Mr.  Stewart,  in 
the  kindest  manner,  said  that  he  would  procure  a  conveyance, 
and  drive  me  there  himself.  He  did  so ;  and  during  our  drive 
he  took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  point  out  the  features  of 
interest,  and  to  explain  a  number  of  useful  points  about  the 
country,  its  people,  and  its  prospects.  On  reaching  the  camp, 
I  presented  to  General  Stephenson  a  letter  of  introduction 
from  General  Harney,  and  was  very  kindly  received  by  him. 
After  a  conference  with  General  Stephenson,  I  returned  to 
Cheyenne  with  Mr.  Stewart,  but  found  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  crowded  condition  of  the  stage,  I  would  have  to  remain 
till  the  next  day. 

Mr.  Stewart,  knowing  how  uncomfortable  I  was  at  the 
hotel,  then  offered  to  take  me  to  Laporte,  and  place  me  in 
rather  better  quarters.  This  kind  offer  I  eagerly  accepted, 
and  soon  found  myself  under  the  excellent  care  of  Mrs.  Tay 
lor,  the  station-keeper's  wife,  and  her  sister,  who  did  all  that 
was  in  their  power  to  make  me  comfortable,  and  to  make  the 
time  pass  agreeably.  I  passed  several  pleasant  days  with 
these  hospitable  ladies,  employing  my  time  in  horseback 
riding,  rambling  over  the  mountains,  gathering  moss- agates, 
and  visiting  the  wigwams  of  the  Indians. 

AMONG  THE  INDIANS. 

The  red  men  smiled  on  me  in  a  rather  disdainful  sort  of 
way,  and  evidently  regarded  me  as  an  enemy.  I  wished  most 
sincerely  that  I  understood  their  language,  if  only  for  the  pur 
pose  of  explaining  my  friendly  feelings  towards  them.  I  had 


ECHO   CANON.  581 

much  more  respect  for  these  savages  than  I  had  for  the  ruf 
fianly  white  men  wh®  were  dispossessing  them  of  their  coun 
try.  In  one  camp  I  did  find  an  old  woman  who  spoke  English 
quite  well,  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  her.  She  said 
that  vice  was  almost  unknown  among  her  people  before  the 
white  men  came,  but  that  the}'  corrupted  the  young  girls,  and 
supplied  the  men  with  whiskey,  until  now  there  was  getting 
to  be  fewer  and  fewer  good  Indians  every  day. 

The  coaches,  at  each  trip,  continued  to  be  so  crowded  that 
it  was  impossible- for  me  to  get  a  place  in  one,  and,  as  I  was 
anxious  to  proceed,  the  agent  at  length  arranged  to  put  on  an 
extra  for  the  accommodation  of  myself  and  several  other  trav 
ellers  who  also  were  waiting  somewhat  impatiently.  When  I 
was  about  starting,  Mr.  Stewart  gave  me  a  letter  of  introduc 
tion  to  the  Mormon  proprietor  of  the  Kimble  House,  in  Salt 
Lake  City. 

After  a  few  days'  travel  we  came  to  Echo  City,  at  the 
entrance  of  Echo  Canon,  where  we  met  with  an  accident, 
which  might  have  had  unpleasant  consequences,  but,  as  no 
lives  were  lost,  we  regarded  it  as  rather  an  agreeable  varia 
tion  of  the  monotony  of  our  journey. 

A  water-spout  in  the  mountains  had  flooded  the  road,  and 
the  driver,  in  attempting  to  force  his  way  through  a  rather 
bad-looking  place,  managed  to  get  the  coach  and  the  horses 
stuck  fast  in  a  quicksand.  The  passengers  were  obliged  to 
swim  out  on  the  backs  of  the  horses,  and  escaped  with  no 
other  damage  than  wet  clothing.  Fortunately,  we  were  near 
the  house  of  a  Mormon,  who  received  us  very  hospitably,  and 
who,  while  his  three  wives  were  endeavoring  to  make,  us  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  would  permit,  went  and  got  two 
yoke  of  oxen  and  pulled  the  coach  out. 

FIRST  ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  THE  MORMONS. 

I  had  heard  "so  much  against  the  Mormons  that  I  was  under 
the  impression  they  were  all  thieves  and  cutthroats.  I  confess 
that  I  was  most  agreeably  disappointed  in  them  from  .this,  my 
first  acquaintance,  to  the  time  of  my  taking  a  final  leave  of 
Utah.  The  homes,  farms,  dress,  and  behavior  all  indicated 
that  they  were  a  hard-working,  industrious  people,  while  they 
appeared  to  be  entirely  free  from  many  of  the  worst  vices  of 
the  Gentiles. 

While  stopping  at  this  house  in  Echo  Canon,  I  ventured  to 


582  ARRIVAL   AT   SALT   LAKE   CITY. 

make  a  fe-w  inquiries  about  their  customs  and  belief,  which 
were  very  politely  answered ;  and  I  was  in  the  midst  of  a  very 
interesting  conversation  with  one  of  the  wives,  a  woman  of 
about  fifty-five,  when  1  was  interrupted  by  the  driver  calling 
upon  me  to  get  into  the  coach. 

The  rain  having  freshened  the  air  somewhat,  I  asked  the 
driver  to  permit  me  to  sit  with  him  outside  as  we  went 
through  the  canon,  in  order  that  I  "might  see  the  scenery. 
He  consented,  and  assisted  me  to  a  seat  on  the  box,  and 
as  we  passed  through  the  canon,  he  explained  the  points  of 
interest  to  me.  He  was  quite  a  handsome  young  fellow,  and 
very  intelligent. 

On  entering  the.  Bear  River  Valley,  my  eye  met,  on  all 
sides,  little  white  cottages  or  neat  log  houses,  surrounded  by 
well-cultivated  and  well- watered  farms  and  orchards,  where 
not  many  years  before  was  but  a  burning  plain,  covered  with 
sage  bushes,  and  the  home  of  the  Ute  Indian,  the  buffalo, 
the  elk,  the  antelope,  the  coyote,  and  the  silver  gray  fox. 
Through  the  untiring  industry  and  good  management  of 
people  who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  in  Ohio,  Illi 
nois,  and  Missouri,  this  desert  had  been  transformed  into 
the  paradise  I  beheld.  The  Mormons  fled  here  to  escape 
persecution,  desiring  only  to  get  as  far  away  from  their 
enemies  as  possible,  and  after  many  years  of  toil  and  hardship 
they  achieved  results  of  which  they  had  a  right  to  be  proud, 
and  which  entitled  them  to  a  more  kindly  consideration,  than 
had  been  accorded  them  when  residing  in  the  States. 

Having  passed  the  Bear  River  Valley,  we  were  soon  in  the 
great  metropolis  of  Mormondorn,  and  driving  through  wide 
streets  and  avenues,  past  houses  that  were  evidently  the 
abodes  of  thrifty  well-to-do  people,  the  coach  at  length  drew 
up  before  the  door  of  the  Kimble  House. 

The  proprietor  came  out,  and  ushered  us  up  stairs  to  the 
parlor,  a  large,  airy  room,  plainly  but  comfortably  furnished, 
and  soon  a  little  girl  came  and  said  that  she  would  show  me 
my  room.  The  furniture  in  this  was  somewhat  primitive  in 
its  style,  but  everything  was  neat  and  clean,  and  the  accom 
modations,  if  not  exactly  such  as  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel 
offers,  were  all  that  any  reasonable  person  had  a  right  to 
expect. 

So  soon  as  I  was  fairly  settled  in  the  hotel,  I  presented  the 
proprietor  the  letter  of  introduction  from  the  road  agent  at 
Cheyenne,  and  had  quite  a  long  conversation  with  him.  He 


AT   AUSTIN.  583 

gave  ,me  much  good  advice  about  my  future  movements,  and 
seemed  disposed,  in  every  way,  to  be  as  kind  and  obliging 
as  lie  could.  From  him  I  learned  that  there  were  a  number 
of  old  Confederate  soldiers  in  the  city  and  vicinity  ;  but  as  I 
was  anxious  to  get  to  the  Eldorado,  where  I  expected  to 
make  my  fortune,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  I  made  no 
attempt  to  find  any  of  them. 

After  taking  a  rest  for  a  day  or  two  in  Salt  Lake  City,  I 
again  started  on  my  journey  westward.  At  Ruby  Valley,  in 
Nevada,  I  met  a  gentleman  who  was  engaged  in  mining  opera 
tions,  and  he  advised  me  strongly  to  go  to  the  Reese  River 
gold  regions.  I  was  not  greatly  prepossessed  with  him,  and 
yet  he  was  certainly  a  man  of  intelligence  and  cultivation,  and, 
as  what  he  told  me  only  served  to  confirm  what  I  had  heard 
from  other  persons,  I  concluded  to  take  his  advice.  On 
arriving  at  Austin,  a  new  city  in  the  mountains,  near  the 
Reese  River,  I  accordingly  left  the  stage  and  took  lodgings 
at  the  Exchange  Hotel,  which  was  kept  by  a  Slavonian  by  the 
name  of  Mollinely. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

MINING  IN    UTAH  AND   NEVADA.  — THE  MORMONS 
AND  THEIR   COUNTRY. 

Noisy  Neighbors.  —  A  Nevada  Desperado.  — The  Aristocracy  of  Austin. 

—  My  Marriage.  —  Speculation  in  Mines  and  Mining  Stock. — Removal 
to  Sacramento  Valley,  California. —  Off  for  the  Gold  Regions  again.  —  A 
characteristic  Fraud.  —  "  Salting  "  a  Mine.  —  The  Wellington  District. 

—  A  Description  of  the  Country,  and  its  Animal,  Vegetable,  and  Min 
eral   Products.  —  A  Residence  in  Salt  Lake  City.  —  Acquaintance  with 
prominent  Mormons,   and  Inquiries  into  the  Nature  of  their  Belief.  — 
Mormon  Principles  and  Practices.  —  Salt  Lake  City  and  its  Surround 
ings.  —  The  Mineral  Wealth   of  Utah. —  Preparing  to  Return  to  the 
East. 

HE  sleeping  apartment  assigned  me  at  Austin 
was  not  the  most  agreeable,  being  next  to  a 
room  occupied  by  some  drunken  fellows,  who 
kept   up   a   terrible    noise   nearly   all   night  j 
and,  as  I  thought  that    most  likely   I  would 
to  put  up  with  this  sort  of  thing  nearly  all  the 
if   I    remained    in    the    hotel,    I    determined    to 
look  for  lodgings  elsewhere.     A  gentleman  to  whom  I 
spoke  about  the  matter  said,  that  he  knew  of  a  private 
house  where   rooms  were  sometimes  to  be  had,  and  of 
fered  to  go  and  see  if  I  could  obtain  accommodation  there. 

While  he  was  gone,  the  chambermaid  brought  from  the  room 
next  to  mine  two  pairs  of  pistols,  two  large  knives,  and  a  ra 
zor,  and  informed  me  that  their  owner  was  a  noted  desperado, 
called  Irish  Tom,  and  that  he  had  killed  two  men. 

I  had  some  curiosity  to  see  this  individual,  but  did  not  care 
particularly  to  make  his  acquaintance.  My  curiosity  was  soon 
gratified,  for  he  came  to  the  parlor  inquiring  for  his  weapons. 
Instead  of  being  angry  with  the  chambermaid  for  having 
taken  them  from  his  room  to  show  them  to  me,  he  seemed  to 
feel  rather  complimented  that  I  should  feel  an  interest  in  them 
and  him.  He  was  a  tall,  good-looking  Irishman,  with  a  very 
pleasant  face,  and  had  as  little  of  the  ruffian  in  his  appearance 

584 


THE  ARISTOCRACY   OF  AUSTIN.  585 

as  any  man  I  had  met  on  the  frontier.  I  was  informed  that  he 
never  attempted  to  hurt  well-behaved  people,  and  that  he 
often  submitted  to  the  grossest  kind  of  insults  from  some  of 
his  intimates.  Men  of  his  acquaintance  had  been  known  to 
slap  him  in  the  face,  and  he  would  take  no  notice,  but  walk 
away  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  With  others,  however,  he 
would  have  no  mercy,  but  would  produce  a  pistol  or  knife  at 
the  slightest  provocation.  Tom  was  rather  noted  for  his  polite 
tearing  towards  the  ladies,  which  I  considered  as  an  evidence 
that  he  was  not  as  bad,  by  any  means,  as  he  might  have  been. 
My  friend,  who  had  gone  to  look  for  lodgings  for  me,  re 
turned,  and  said  that  he  had  secured  me  a  very  good  room. 
I  accordingly  left  the  hotel,  and  had  reason  to  congratulate 
myself  in  my  change  of  quarters.  My  landlady  was  a  Penn- 
sylvanian,  and  was  disposed  to  do  all  in  her  power  to  make 
me  comfortable,  and  to  assist  me  in  carrying  out  the  object  I 
had  in  view  in  taking  up  my  residence  in  Austin.  She  intro 
duced  me  to  a  restaurant-keeper,  who  agreed  to  supply  me 
with  my  meals,  and  also  to  a  number  of  the  prominent  people 
of  the  place  —  the  judge,  the  doctor,  the  Methodist  minister, 
and  others. 

QUEER  PEOPLE. 

The  aristocracy  of  Austin  was  made  up  of  an  odd  lot  of 
people,  who,  however,  had  the  best  possible  opinion  of  them 
selves,  even  if  they  did  use  bad  grammar,  swear  hard,  and 
drink  unlimited  quantities  of  whiskey.  I,  however,  always  had 
a  happy  faculty  of  adapting  myself  to  circumstances,  and  I 
was  soon  on  excellent  terms  with  most  of  my  new  acquaint 
ances. 

Among  my  friends  was  an  individual  of  about  sixty  years 
of  age,  who,  from  his  conversation,  seemed  to  have  been  at 
one  time  accustomed  to  mingle  in  really  good  society.  He 
was  a  widower,  and  was  extensively  engaged  in  mining  oper 
ations.  I  had  not  known  him  more  than  a  couple  of  days  be 
fore  he  asked  me  to  marry  him,  and  offered  to  give  me  an 
interest  in  his  mines  if  I  would  accept  him.  I  thought  that 
this  was  a  rather  abrupt  style  of  courtship,  and  felt  constrained 
to  decline.  He  took  my  refusal  good-naturedly  enough,  and 
was  evidently  not  sufficiently  in  love  with  rne  to  break  his 
heart  because  he  could  not  get  me. 

Subsequently  I  met  a  gentleman  who  paid  me  attention,  and 
to  whom  I  became  sincerely  attached.  We  were  married  in  a 


586  MINING   FRAUDS. 

very  quiet  manner ;  for  neither  of  us  desired,  any  more  than 
we  could  help,  to  be  made  the  subjects  of  the  gossip  of  a 
mining  town. 

Shortly  after  my  marriage  I  made  a  flying  trip  to  New  Or 
leans,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  my  brother,  and  some  of  my 
relatives.  Immediately  a  rumor  was  started  that  I  had  run 
away  ;  and  when  I  returned  I  found  that  all  kinds  of  stories  had 
been  set  afloat  about  me.  My  re-appearance,  however,  set 
them  all  at  rest;  and,  as  my  husband  and  myself  zealously- 
attended  to  our  own  business,  and  let  that  of  other  people  alone, 
we  were  permitted  to  dwell  together  in  peace. 

When  I  got  back  from  New  Orleans,  we  purchased  a  snug 
little  stone  house,  and  I  devoted  myself  to  advancing  my  hus 
band's  interests  as  much  as  possible,  and  to  making  our  home 
comfortable  and  attractive. 

My  husband,  for  a  time,  prospered  in  his  mining  operations ; 
and,  although  there  were  some  envious  people  who  spoke  ill 
of  him  and  of  me,  we  succeeded  in  gaming  the  esteem  of  such 
of  our  neighbors  as  were  worth  knowing,  and  did  not  disturb 
ourselves  about  what  might  be  said  of  us  by  those  who  were 
disposed  to  speak  evil. 

The  city  of  Austin,  which  is  near  the  centre  of  Nevada, 
at  this  time  (1868)  contained  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  inhabitants,  most  of  whom  were  in  some  way  con 
nected  with  the  mines.  There  were  about  a  dozen  stores,  one 
hotel,  four  or  five  lodging-houses,  half  a  dozen  restaurants, 
more  drinking-saloons  than  I  ever  undertook  to  count,  Catho 
lic  and  Methodist  churches,  a  Masonic  hall,  and  five  quartz 
crushing-mills,  only  one,  however,  of  which  was  in  operation. 

MINING  SPECULATIONS  AND  SWINDLES. 

There  was  any  amount  of  speculation  in  mines  and  mining 
stocks,  and  any  amount  of  the  worst  kind  of  swindling  going 
on  all  the  time.  Some  of  the  mines  were  good  ones ;  but 
others  were  mere  pretences,  and  were  worth  nothing  at  all. 
Many  of  these  bogus  mines  were  sold  to  eastern  capitalists  by 
experts,  who  made  a  specialty  of  working  frauds  of  this  de 
scription. 

It  was  while  residing  in  Austin  that  I  first  heard  the  ex 
pression  "  salting "  .applied  to  mines,  and  learned  what  it 
meant.  Salting,  however,  was  only  one  of  a  number  of  frauds 
that  were  practised  every  day. 


SCENES    AT    EL   DORADO. 


MINING   OPERATIONS.  587 

It  grieved  me  greatly  that  my  husband  should  be  compelled 
to  associate,  and  to  transact  business  with  such  scoundrels  as 
the  men  about  him.  His  partner,  especially,  was  as  worthless 
a  scamp  as  there  was  in  the  district ;  and,  as  I  felt  certain  that 
he  would  in  time  be  held  responsible  for  some  of  the  doings 
of  this  fellow,  I  persuaded  him  to  give  up  mining,  and  to  seek 
a  home  in  some  locality  that  offered  greater  advantages  for 
living,  as  decent  people  ought  to  live,  than  Austin  did. 

My  husband  accordingly  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  mines, 
and  we  removed  to  California,  where  we  purchased  a  lovely 
place  in  the  Sacramento  valley.  This  was  just  such  a  home 
as  I  had  always  sighed  for,  and  I  was  perfectly  happy  in  the 
idea  of  settling  down,  and  living  a  quiet  contented  life  for  the 
rest  pf  my  days. 

It  was  not  to  be,  however.  My  husband  had  the  gold  fever, 
and  he  found  it  impossible  to  be  satisfied  with  what  would 
have  satisfied  most  reasonable  people.  He  was  restless  and 
irritable,  and  was  all  the  time  anxious  to  be  off  to  the  mines 
again. 

We  had  not  been  settled  in  our  new  home  more  than  a  few 
months,  when,  to  my  infinite  regret,  he  insisted  on  starting  off 
for  the  new  Eldorado  in  Utah.  He  then  passed  a  year  pros 
pecting  in  Bingham  Canon,  Camp  Floyd,  Eureka,  and  Tintic, 
and  expended  all  his  money  without  achieving  anything.  He 
was  then  compelled  to  accept  the  foremanship  of  a  mine  in  the 
Lucine  district,  and  after  he  had  been  working  in  that  capacity 
for  some  time,  was  promoted  to  superintendent. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  firm  by  whom  my  husband  was 
employed  was  a  gentleman,  and  was  honest,  as  honesty  went 
in  that  region.  The  other  was  a  drunkard,  and  a  fraud  of  the 
worst  kind.  This  man,  some  time  before  this,  had  started  a 
settlement,  which  he  named  after  himself,  and  had  built  a 
smelting  furnace,  all  for  the  purpose  of  selling  some  bogus 
mines.  He  also  perpetrated  an  infamous  swindle  on  some 
English  capitalists,  in  relation  to  a  mine  in  Nevada. 

A  "  SALTED  "  MINE. 

The  way  the  thing  was  done  was  this,  and  it  will  serve  as 
an  illustration  of  the  kind  of  swindles  that  were  constantly 
being  perpetrated  in  connection  with  mines. 

-  He  sent  to  Virginia  and  purchased  some  rich  ore  from  the 
Comstock  mine,  for  the  purpose  of  salting  the  mine  which  he 


588  SALTING. 

wished  to  sell.  This  was  a  silver-bearing  lead,  but  there  was 
not  enough  metal  in  the  ore  to  pay  for  getting  it  out.  It  was 
necessary,  however,  in  order  to  effect  a  sale,  to  give  the  im 
pression  that  it  was  very  rich.  The  smelter,  therefore,  run  out 
about  three  thousand  bars,  which  were  supposed  to  be  silver, 
but  which  were  in  reality  half  lead. 

These  were  hauled  to  the  depot,  where  the  persons  who 
proposed  to  purchase  could  see  them ;  but  after  dark  they 
were  taken  back  to  the  mine,  and  the  next  day  the  teams 
took  them  to  the  depot  again.  This  was  done  for  three  suc 
cessive  days,  and  the  Englishmen,  seeing  such  enormous 
amounts  of  metal,  became  greatly  excited,  and  offered  a  mil 
lion  dollars  for  the  mine.  The  speculator  refused,  and  then 
they  offered  a  million  and  a  half.  This  offer  he  closed  with, 
and  a  day  was  set  for  the  inspection  of  the  mine. 

The  "  dumps  "  were  thoroughly  salted,  and  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  assayer  and  mining  expert  to  be  in 
attendance.  The  proposed  purchasers  had  their  expert 
with  them,  a  German  professor  from  Freiburg.  This  profes 
sor  had  a  large  sack  with  him  in  which  to  put  samples  of  ore, 
and  when  going  down  into  the  mine  he  gave  it  to  one  of  the 
men  to  carry  for  him. 

The  speculator  had  on  a  large  blanket-coat,  with  immense 
pockets  in  it,  which  were  filled  with  rich  ore.  The  man  with 
the  sack  was  also  provided  with  a  small  quantity,  to  be  used 
in  case  of  emergency.  Every  time  the  professor  put  a  piece 
of  ore  in  the  sack,  so  soon  as  his  back  was  turned  the  specula 
tor  or  his  man  would  drop  in  some  of  the  rich  ore.  The  result 
was,  that  when  the  assays  were  made,  they  rose  from  three 
thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  the  ton. 

The  Englishmen  were  in  ecstasies,  and  insisted  on  the  con 
tract  beirfg  drawn  up  immediately.  Part  of  the  purchase 
money  was  then  paid  down,  and  the  rest  was  to  be  forthcom 
ing  in  thirty  days.  When  the  thirty  days  expired  the  pur 
chasers  took  possession,  only  to  find  that  they  had  been 
duped  in  a  most  outrageous  manner.  By  the  time  the  dis 
covery  of  the  fraud  was  made,  however,  the  swindlers  had 
fled,  and  the  Englishmen  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  return  to 
London  with  empty  pockets. 

One  of  them,  however,  tried  his  luck  again  in  Little  Cotton- 
wood,  in  the  Wellington  district,  but  with  no  better  success. 

My  husband  was  at  this  time  superintendent  of  one  of  the 
Wellington  mines,  and  I  consequently  had  ample  opportu- 


f)  O 


COTTOXWOOD    CANON.  589 

nities  to  study  mining  life,  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
numerous  frauds  that  were  going*  on.  I  was  also  thrown  in  a 
good  deal  with  the  Mormons,  and  was  able  to  study  their 
characters  and  manners. 

Little  Cottonwood  canon  is  about  twelve  miles  long,  is 
very  narrow,  and  very  deep.  A  stream  runs  down  the  mid 
dle  of  it,  which  is  very  swift  in  the  months  of  June  and  July, 
when  it  is  full,  on  account  of  the  melting  of  immense  quanti 
ties  of  snow  on  the  mountains. 


THE  GOLD  REGION  OP  NEVADA. 

Tannersville  is  a  town,  or  settlement,  named  in  honor  of  a 
woman  who  kept  a  hotel  or  stage-station  there.  There  was 
a  mill  and  smelter  at  that  place  at  the  time  of  which  I  am 
writing. 

Alta  City,  at  the  foot  of  the  two  canons,  —  Big  and  Little 
Cottonwood,  —  is  a  town  of  rather  more  importance.  When  I 
was  there  it  had  three  stores,  a  hotel,  a  couple  of  lodging- 
houses,  a  livery  stable,  and  a  large  number  of  drinking- 
saloons.  The  dwelling-houses  were  mostly  very  small,  and 
were  entirely  invisible  in  winter,  being  covered  by  the  snow. 
The  snow  usually  commences  to  fall  about  the  middle  of  Sep 
tember,  but  I  have  seen  it  in  August.  During  the  winter 
many  parts  of  the  canon  are  impassable,  except  by  the  use  of 
sledges  and  snow-shoes,  and  there  is  constant  danger  from 
avalanches,  which  carry  everything  before  them. 

The  Wellington  mine  lost  its  foreman  and  a  miner  through 
an  avalanche  while  I  was  there,  and  many  men  have  lost  their 
lives  in  this  canon,  their  bodies  remaining  buried  beneath 
the  snow  until  spring. 

I  doubt  whether  many  of  the  mines  in  this  district  will 
ever  be  successfully  worked.  The  Emma  is  one  of  the  best, 
and  I  think  could  be  made  to  pay,  if  judiciously  operated. 
This  mine  is  situated  in  the  side  of  the  monntain,  and  'is 
almost  perpendicular.  On  looking  at  it,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
wonder  how  the  owners  ever  reached  it,  or  are  able  to  work 
it.  I  believe  that  there  is  an  immense  lead  of  silver  here 
which  will  yet  be  unearthed. 

This  part  of  the  country  offers  a  rich  field  for  the  botanist 
and  naturalist.  The  flowers  are  in  the  greatest  profusion,  and 
are  of  every  imaginable  hue.  They  grow  from  the  mouth  of 
the  canon  to  some  of  the  highest  points  on  the  mountains. 


590  ANOTHER   MOVE. 

The  wild  cherry,  the  whortleberry,  the  serviceberry,  the  thim- 
bleberry,  and  the  dewberry  are  very  abundant. 

On  the  very  summits  of  this  immense  range  will  be  found 
clear  blue  lakes,  filled  with  spotted  trout.  How  they  have 
managed  to  get  there  is  more  than  I  can  tell. 

When  the  highest  points  are  reached,  if  one  looks  aloft  the 
broad-winged  eagle  may  be  seen  wheeling  in  the  air ;  while 
upon  the  ground  are  the  beautiful  mountain  squirrels,  busily 
engaged  in  gathering  their  winter  stores.  I  have  often  sat 
for  hours  and  watched  these  nimble  little  animals.  There  are 
as  many  as  six  different  varieties  of  squirrels,  some  of  which 
are  not  larger  than  mice,  while  others,  the  size  of  the  common 
gray  squirrels  of  the  Eastern  States,  are  beautifully  striped, 
and  vary  in  color  from  light  gray  to  dark  brown.  The  great 
est  enemies  of  these  harmless  animals  are  the  eagle  and  the 
mink. 

Large  rats  abound  in  the  woods,  as  do  also  the  brown 
weasels.  These  last-named  animals  are  about  eighteen  inches 
in  length  from  the  nose  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  The  head  is 
small,  and  the  eyes,  which  are  very  prominent,  are  of  a  soft, 
lustrous  black.  The  weasels  are  very  cunning,  and  are 
especially  destructive  to  the  mice  and  squirrels.  I  have  seen 
two  old  ones  kill  as  many  as  six  or  eight  mice  in  a  day,  in  my 
home,  and  carry  them,  one  at  a  time,  across  the  ravine  to  their 
young  in  the  woods.  While  carrying  a  mouse,  however, 
should  a  squirrel  appear,  the  weasel  will  throw  down  the 
mouse,  and  go  after  this  fresh  game,  and  then  come  back  and 
get  the  mouse. 

To  my  great  satisfaction,  my  husband  at  length  got  tired 
of  working  in  this  region,  and  under  so  many  disadvantages, 
and  concluded  to  try  his  fortune  elsewhere.  He  had  quite  a 
notion  of  New  Mexico,  which  he  thought  held  out  inducements 
for  fortune-seekers ;  but  I  was  beginning  to  be  out  of  the 
notion  of  the  whole  business,  and  was  anxious  to  be  among  a 
different  class  of  people  from  those  wrho,  for  the  most  part, 
make  up  the  population  of  the  mining  districts.  There  was 
so  much  outrageous  swindling  going  on  when  we  were  there 
residing,  that  I  was  disposed  to  regard  almost  any  move 
as  a  good  one,  and  very  willingly  turned  my  face  eastward 
again. 

We  went  first  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  we  remained  for 
some  time,  and  I  consequently  had  excellent  opportunities 
afforded  me  for  becoming  intimately  acquainted  with  a  num- 


THH   MORMONS.  591 

ber  of  Mormons,  and  of  learning  a   great  deal  about  their 
religion,  and  their  manners  and  customs. 

AMONG  THE  MORMONS. 

The  lady  with  whom  I  boarded  had  been  an  early  convert 
to  Mormonism,  had  resided  at  Nauvoo  at  the  time  the  exodus 
was  determined  upon,  and  had  been  one  of  the  band  of  emi 
grants,  who,  fleeing  from  persecution,  had  sought  a  home 
among  the  mountains  of  Utah.  She  had  been  one  of  twelve 
wives,  and  was  a  strong  advocate  of  polygamy.  When  she 
saw  that  I  really  desired  to  know  something  about  Mormon- 
.ism,  not  from  mere  curiosity,  but  from  a  genuine  wish  to  gain 
information  that  would  enable  me  to  form  an  impartial  judg 
ment,  she  took  great  pleasure  in  answering  all  my  questions, 
and  in  providing  me  with  facilities  for  pursuing  my  inquiries. 

She  was  a  very  intelligent  woman,  and  her  account  of  the 
persecutions  to  which  the  Mormons  were  subjected  at  Nauvoo, 
and  the  suffering  and  hardships  they  endured  during  the  long 
and  toilsome  journey  to  a  place  where  they  hoped  to  be  for 
ever  undisturbed,  was  most  interesting.  She  had  quite  an 
extensive  library,  to  which  I  had  free  access,  and  she  took  a 
great  deal  of  pains  in  directing  my  reading,  and  in  explaining 
points  which  I  found  to  be  obscurely  stated  in  the  books. 

As  I  was  the  only  boarder  in  the  house,  my  husband  boing 
away  in  the  canon  most  of  the  time,  we  were  naturally 
thrown  much  together,  and  after  we  became  intimate  she  took 
me  into  her  confidence  to  an  extent  that  she  would  not  have 
done  had  we  been  comparative  strangers. 

Among  other  things,  she  showed  me  her  Endowment  robes, 
which  she  wore  when  she  became  a  member  of  the  Mormon 
church.  This  dress  consisted  of  a  linen  garment,  something 
like  a  pair  of  drawers.  It  was  very  full,  and  had  a  body  and 
sleeves  attached.  Over  one  side  a  heart-shaped  piece  was 
cut  out,  and  the  edges  worked  with  a  button-hole  stitch. 
Curious  figures  were  also  worked  on  the  sleeves  and  on  the 
left  hip.  The  robe  proper  was  something  like  a  priest's  sur 
plice.  The  slippers,  which,  like  the  rest  of  the  dress,  were 
of  linen,  resembled  moccasons.  A  tall  pointed  cap,  with  holes 
for  the  eyes,  which  is  drawn  down  over  the  face  during  the 
ceremonies,  completed  this  singular  attire. 

The  decorations  worn  by  the  men  while  taking  the  oath 
were  also  shown  to  me.  They  consisted  of  a  regalia  of  Maza- 


592  MORMON   PREACHING. 

rine  blue  silk,  with  a  representation  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon 
in  the  centre,  and  a  heart,  surrounded  by  a  number  of  em 
blems  similar  to  those  in  use  by  the  Masons.  She  told  me 
that  the  oath  was  very  similar  to  that  which  the  Masons  used, 
and  that  it  was  administered  to  both  men  and  women. 

POLYGAMY. 

During  my  residence  in  Salt  Lake  City,  I  became  acquainted 
with  Brigham  Young,  and  a  number  of  the  bishops,  and  other 
prominent  Mormons,  and  I  formed  a  very  high  opinion  of 
them.  There  certainly  has  seldom  or  never  been  so  well- 
governed  a  people  as  the  Mormons  were  before  the  Gentiles 
found  them  out,  and  insisted  on  intruding  on  their  domain.  As 
for  polygamy,  it  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  their  religion,  and 
has  the  sanction  of  the  same  Bible  that  the  Christians,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  acknowledge ;  and  I  cannot  see  why 
the  Mormons  should  not  be  permitted  to  hold  their  religious 
beliefs  the  same  as  other  sects.  I  do  not  believe  in  polygamy 
myself,  but  if  other  people  think  it  is  right,  and  choose  to 
practise  it,  that  is  their  business  and  not  mine. 

Whether  polygamy,  however,  be  right  or  wrong,  there  is 
this  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Mormons.  The  men  marry  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  their  church,  and  they  acknowledge 
and  provide  for  the  women  who  bear  them  children  —  which 
is  a  good  deal  more  than  a  great  many  people  who  denounce 
polygamy  and  Mormonism  do.  The  Mormon  religion  professes 
to  be  based  upon  the  Bible,  what  they  call  "  The  Book  of 
Mormon"  being  merely  a  later  revelation;  and  I  have  heard 
as  good,  sound,  practical  sermons  preached  in  Salt  Lake  City 
by  Mormons  who  worked  hard  all  the  week  earning  bread  for 
their  families,  as  I  ever  heard  anywhere. 

I  have  listened  to  the  preaching  of  nearly  all  the  principal 
bishops,  and  I  never  heard  any  of  them  utter  a  word  that  was 
'not  good  doctrine,  calculated  to  make  men  and  women  better 
and  more  honorable  in  all  their  dealings  with  their  neighbors. 
Most  of  these  sermons  were  in  a  much  more  practical  vein 
than  some  I  have  heard  in  fashionable  churches  a  good  many 
hundred  miles  eastward  of  Salt  Lake  City ;  but  I  liked  them 
none  the  less  for  that ;  and  I  respected  the  preachers,  for,  so 
far  as  I  was  able  to  see,  they  practised  exactly  what  they 
preached,  and  did  not  have  one  religion  for  the  Sabbath  and 
another  for  working  days. 


MORMON   MORALITY.  593 

I  never  saw  or  heard  of  a  gambling  den  or  a  drinking  sa 
loon  being  kept  by  a  Mormon ;  and  many  of  the  degrading 
vices  which  flourish  in  Gentile  communities,  were  absolutely 
unknown  in  Salt  Lake  City  when  the  Mormons  were  its  only 
residents.  Even  now,  the  standard  of  morality  is  higher  in 
this  and  other  Mormon  towns  than  it  is  in  any  place  that  I 
know  anything  about  between  Omaha  and  the  Pacific  coast ; 
while  in  real  thrift  and  industry  the  Mormons  are  out  of  all 
comparison  superior  to  their  Gentile  neighbors. 

These  people  went  to  Utah,  hoping  and  expecting  to  sep 
arate  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  in  order  that  they 
might  worship  God  in  their  own  way  without  molestation,  and 
they  ought  to  be  permitted  to  do  it.  Through  many  years 
of  toil  and  indefatigable  industry  they  transformed  the  barren 
wilderness  into  a  blooming  Paradise.  Conducting  the  water 
down  from  the  mountains,  they  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
sandy  plains,  covered  with  sage  bushes,  under  cultivation,  and 
what  was  once  a  dreary  desert,  is  now  fertile  fields,  yielding 
luxuriant  harvests,  or  orchards  bearing  the  most  delicious 
fruits. 

A  MORMON  HOUSEHOLD. 

During  my  stay  in  Salt  Lake  Valley,  I  boarded  for  several 
months  in  the  house  of  Bishop  Nilo  Andrews,  at  Sandy  Sta- 
tiori,  and  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with  five  of  his  six  wives. 
They  were  all  smart  women,  and  their  children  were,  without 
exception,  fine  looking,  strong,  hearty,  and  intelligent.  The 
bishop  was  passionately  fond  of  his  children,  and  took  the 
greatest  pains  to  have  them  well  educated.  His  daughters  he 
escorted  to  all  public  gatherings  and  entertainments  that  it 
was  proper  for  them  to  attend,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to 
make  life  enjoyable  for  them. 

The  bishop  was  about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  was  as  hale 
and  hearty  as  a  man  of  thirty.  He  was  .not  a  bit  afraid  of 
work,  and  could  get  through  an  amount  of  it  that  would  have 
shamed  many  a  younger  man.  I  never  want  to  receive  better 
hospitality  than  I  did  from  him  ;  and  when  he  found  that  I 
was  desirous  of  obtaining  correct  information  about  the  Mor 
mons,  he  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  tell  me  anything  I 
wished  to  know. 

He  was  quite  a  learned  man,  and  like  all  the  Mormons  I  ever 
met,  was  thoroughly  posted  in  the  Bible  and  in  biblical  his- 
38 


594  SALT   LAKE   CITY. 

tory,  and  was  able  to  explain,  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  the 
points  of  coincidence  and  differences  between  Mormonism  and 
other  religious  systems.  The  bishop  told  me  that  the  greatest 
pains  was  taken  in  the  matter  of  religious  instruction,  and 
that  men  and  women  who  could  not  read,  and  even  quite 
young  children,  often  knew  most  of  the  Bible  by  heart. 

THE  MORMON  SECTS. 

There  are  a  number  of  sects  among  the  Mormons,  between 
which  some  jealousy  seems  to  exist.  Of  these,  the  Brig- 
hamites,  the  Gadites,  and  the  Josephites  are  the  principal. 
What  the  differences  between  them  are  I  never  could  exactly 
make  out.  Another  matter  I  never  clearly  understood,  was 
the  status  of  sealed  wives.  I  could  not  comprehend  by  what 
theory  a  Mormon  could  marry  a  widow  for  her  lifetime,  while 
all  her  children  born  of  the  second  marriage  would  belong  to 
the  first  husband  in  the  next  world. 

The  City  of  Salt  Lake  is  located  on  the  banks  of  the  River 
Jordan,  a  stream  which  connects  Great  Salt  Lake  and  Utah 
Lake.  It  is  about  three  miles  distant  from  the  mountains, 
which  lie  to  the  eastward.  The  streets  are  very  wide,  and 
are,  many  of  them,  very  handsome  in  appearance,  being  lined 
with  cotton- wood  and  sycamore  trees,  and  having  streams  of 
water  running  through  them.  This  last  is  a  specially  at 
tractive  feature. 

Most  of  the  houses  are  well  built,  and  are  very  neat  and 
pretty,  being  supplied  with  all  the  conveniences  and  comforts 
reasonable  people  can  desire.  Each  house  has  a  small  garden 
and  orchard  attached,  which  are  invariably  kept  in  the  best 
possible  order. 

Brigham  Young's  residence  is  of  stone,  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  wall.  Over  the  entrace  is  a  bee-hive,  emblematic  of  in 
dustry,  and  over  the  large  gate  is  a  spread  eagle.  The  house 
is  plain,  and  not  at  all  pretentious,  but  it  is  neat  and  substan 
tial  looking.  The  walls  of  the  office  are  ornamented  with 
some  fine  portraits  of  Joseph  Smith  and  other  Mormon  celeb 
rities. 

Brigham  Young  is  a  light- complexioned  man,  rather  inclined 
to  corpulency,  but  strong  and  hearty  in  spite  of  his  years  and 
the  labors  he  has  undergone.  He  has  a  large,  full  head,  a 
keen  blue  eye,  and  an  easy,  affable  manner  that  is  very  en 
gaging.  I  found  him  to  be  a  pleasant,  genial  gentleman,  with 


FAREWELL   TO   SALT   LAKE   CITY.  595 

an  excellent  fund  of  humor,  and  a  captivating  style  of  con 
versation. 

The  great  Tabernacle,  which  will  be  used  for  the  purpose 
of  worship  until  the  Temple  is  completed,  is  an  immense 
building,  which  will  seat  fifteen  thousand  people.  The  pews 
are  built  in  tiers,  so  that  each  person  in  the  building  can 
have  a  view  of  the  altar.  The  altar  is  a  large  and  imposing 
structure.  In  its  rear  is  the  organ  and  a  space  for  the  choir. 
This  organ  is  the  second  largest  in  the  world.  It  was  built 
entire  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  work  on  the  Temple  is  going 
on  all  the  time,  slowly  but  surely,  and  the  expectation  is  to 
have  it  finished  by  the  time  of  Christ's  second  coming.  He 
will  then  dedicate  it,  and  it  will  be  the  great  religious  centre 
of  the  world,  where  all  true  Christians  will  come  and  worship. 

Every  ward  of  Salt  Lake  City  has  its  public  school,  and 
efforts  are  made  to  give  every  child  a  good  practical  educa 
tion.  There  are  four  large  hotels,  three  banks,  three  printing 
offices,  a  large,  well-regulated  hospital,  numerous  manufacto 
ries  of  various  kinds,  and  several  flouring  and  other  mills. 

There  are  several  large  towns  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
city,  and  new  settlements  are  continually  springing  up. 
Springville,  about  fifty  miles  to  the  south-east,  is  a  very  beau 
tiful  place.  At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing  a  railroad 
down  the  centre  of  the  valley  was  in  operation,  and  two  others 
were  in  contemplation. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  Utah  is  practically  inexhaustible. 
Iron,  gold,  silver,  copper;  lead,  salt,  alum,  gypsum,  soda,  ar 
senic,  and  slate  abound  in  immense  quantities. 

Salt  Lake  is  a  very  large  body  of  water,  of  a  much  greater 
specific  gravity  than  that  of  the  ocean.  No  living  thing  can 
exist  in  it,  and  in  its  deepest  parts  no  soundings  have  ever 
been  able  to  find  a  bottom.  There  are  three  islands  near 
the  middle  of  the  lake,  which  are  said  to  be  rich  in  metals. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Utah,  called  Dixie,  cotton  and  cattle 
are  raised.  On  the  banks  of  the  Sevier  River  are  very  fine 
grazing  lands.  The  Mormons  claim  that  there  have  been 
some  discoveries  of  gold  and  silver  made  in  this  section. 

Taking  it  all  in  all,  my  residence  in  Salt  Lake  city  was  both 
pleasant  and  profitable  to  me  ;  and  when  the  time  came  for  me 
to  say  farewell  to  my  Mormon  friends,  I  did  so  with  many  re 
grets,  and  with  many  wishes  that  they  might  escape  persecu 
tion  from  their  enemies.  I  could  not  agree  with  all  of  their 
religious  doctrines,  but  I  learned  to  regard  them  as  an  indus- 


596  FACING  EASTWARD   AGAIN. 

trious,  hard-working,  and  honest  people,  and  as;  consequently, 
deserving  of  respect  and  sympathy. 

After  a  sojourn  of  a  number  of  months  in  Utah,  I  prepared 
to  journey  eastward  again,  having  scarcely  bettered  my  for 
tunes,  but  having  seen  some  varieties  of  life  worth  seeing,  and 
having  gained  some  valuable  experiences,  not  the  least  valua 
ble  of  which  was,  that  mining  speculations  are  things  that 
people  who  have  consciences  should  have  as  little  as  possible 
to  do  with. 


CHAPTER  LIL 

COLORADO,   NEW   MEXICO,   AND   TEXAS.  — CONCLUSION. 

Denver.  —  Pueblo.  —  Trinidad.  —  Stockton's  Ranch e.  —  A  Headquarters 
for  Desperadoes.  —  Cattle  Stealing.  —  A  private  Graveyard.  —  Max 
well's  Ranche.  —  Dry  Cimmaron.  —  Fort  Union.  —  Sante  Fe.  —  The 
oldest  City  in  New  Mexico.  —  A  wagon  Journey  down  the  Valley  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  —  Evidences  of  Ancient  Civilization.  —  Fort  McRae 
and  the  Hot  Spring.  —  Mowry  City.  —  The  Gold  Mining  region  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  —  El  Paso.  —  A  thriving  Town.  —  A  stage 
Ride  through  Western  Texas.  —  Fort  Bliss.  —  Fort  Quitman  and  Eagle 
Spring.  —  The  Leon  Holes.  —  Fort  Stockton.  —  The  Rio  Pecos.  —  A 
fine  Country.  —  Approaching  Civilization.  —  The  End  of  the  Story. 

JITH  my  little  baby  boy  —  born  during  my 
sojourn  in  Salt  Lake  City  —  in  my  arms, 
I  started  on  a  long  journey  through 
_  __  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas,  hop 
ing,  perhaps,  but  scarcely  expecting,  to  find  the 
opportunities,  which  I  had  failed  to  find  in  Utah^ 
Nevada,  and  California,  for  advancing  my  pecuniary 
interests.  Apart,  however,  from  profits  that  might 
result  from  it,  the  journey  would  be  worth  making 
for  its  own  sake,  for,  from  what  I  had  heard  of 
this  section  of  the  Western  country,  great  things  were  to  be 
ex'pected  of  it  in  the  near  future  ;  and  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
and  judging  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  its  resources  would 
amply  repay  me  for  the  trouble  of  making  a  trip  through  it. 

After  leaving  Salt  Lake  City,  the  first  place  of  importance 
reached  was  Denver,  Colorado,  on  the  Platte  River.  This  I 
found  to  be  a  well  built  and  very  thriving  town,  of  about 
eight  or  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  Among  its  public  institu 
tions  were  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Mint,  and  several 
hotels,  churches,  and  banks.  Denver  was,  until  the  comple 
tion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  the  chief  trading  centre  in  this- 
region.  Since  the  completion  of  the  railroad,  however,  its 
importance  in  comparison  with  other  places  has, in  some  degree 

597 


598  A  DESPERADO. 

diminished ;  but  as  the  country  becomes  settled,  it  may  be 
expected  to  increase  in  wealth  and  population,  and  it  will 
probably,  ere  a  great  many  years,  be  one  of  the  finest  cities 
in  the  whole  West. 

Among  the  new  towns  which  have  recently  sprung  up  in 
Colorado  is  Pueblo,  nearly  two  hundred  miles  south  of  Denver, 
and  the  terminus  of  the  narrow  gauge  railroad  which  taps 
the  Pacific  Railroad  at  Cheyenne.  This  town  takes  its  name 
from  the  Pueblo  Indians,  who  are  much  farther  advanced  in 
civilization  than* most  of  the  aborigines,  and  who  deserve  much 
credit  for  their  industrious  habits  and  their  efforts  to  prosper. 

Trinidad,  still  farther  to  the  south,  is  an  old  Mexican  town, 
and  is  the  centre  of  an  extensive  cattle  and  sheep  raising 
country.  There  is  a  constant  war  going  on  in  this  region  on 
the  subject  of  stock  between  Americans,  Mexicans,  and 
Indians.  Cattle  thieves,  who  steal  stock  from  Texas  and 
Mexico,  rendezvous  near  Trinidad,  and,  as  they  are  not 
particular  whom  they  plunder,  so  long  as  they  are  able  to  do 
it  with  impunity,  their  presence  is  anything  but  agreeable  to 
people  who  desire  to  live  reasonably  peaceable  lives,  and  to 
get  along  by  minding  their  own  business. 

A  COLOEADO  RANCHE. 

Some  distance  from  Trinidad  is  Stockton's  Ranche,  in  the 
midst  of  a  wild,  unsettled  country,  and  the  only  house  within 
a  circuit  of  many  miles'  ride.  This  is  a  noted  headquarters 
of  the  desperadoes  who  infest  New  Mexico  and  Lower  Colorado. 
The  building  is  two  stories  in  height,  is  quite  large,  and  con 
tains  a  store  and  drinking-saloon.  On  a  mound  above  the 
house  is  a  graveyard,  in  which  twenty-one  people  have 
been  buried.  •  Only  three  out  of  this  number  had  died 
natural  deaths,  the  others  having  been  shot  down  like  dogs, 
for  some  real  or  fancied  offences.  Stockton  has  killed  several 
.men  himself,  while  many  more  have  fallen  by  the  hands  of  his 
confederates. 

Stockton  was  a  small  man,  restless  in  his  movements,  and 
with  a  fierce  black  eye.  He  had  a  wife  and  a  ver}-  interesting 
family,  for  whom  I  felt  much  sympathy  when  I  learned  what 
a  desperate  character  he  was.  His  wife,  who  seemed  to  be  a 
very  nice,  clever  woman,  was  much  troubled  with  regard  to 
him.  She  told  me  that  she  was  always  uneasy  about  him  when 
iie  was  away  from  home,  and  that,  at  times,  even  when  he  was 


FRONTIER   LIFE.  599 

sleeping  in  his  bed,  she  was  harassed  with  fears  lest  some 
one    should  come  arid  take  him  for  the  purpose  of  shooting 

him.  Bancroft  yjaSr^ 

While  I  was  at  the  RancrTe,  Stockton  sent'out  some  of  his- 
men  to  get  some  cattle  at  Maxwell's  Ranche,  which  he  claimed 
as  his.  His  instructions  were  to  take  the  cattle  at  all  hazards, 
and  to  capture  the  men  who  were  supposed  to  have  stolen 
them,  dead  or  alive.  The  herders  were  generally  selected  for 
their  utter  recklessness,  and  as  a  rule  they  cared  neither  for 
God  nor  man,  but  would  shoot  down  any  one  who '  offended 
them,  without  pity  or  remorse.  Most  of  these  herders  are 
very  young  men,  and  are  generally  athletic  and  handsome. 
Some  of  them,  from  their  appearance  and  conversation,  appear 
to  have  been  well  reared  ;  and  if  asked  why  they  have  come 
to  the  frontiers  to  lead  such  a  wild  life  as  this,  they  will 
frankly  say,  that  they  are  trying  to  make  their  fortunes,  and 
that  they  expect  to  do  it  in  a  couple  of  years.  They  are 
usually  disappointed  in  these  expectations ;  and  those  who  do 
not  give  up  in  disgust,  and  return  to  civilization,  fall  into  the 
habits  of  the  country,  and  soon  become  as  finished  desperadoes 
as  those  who  have  been  born  and  brought  up  there.  Some  of 
them,  however,  engaged  in  this  kind  of  life  because  they 
really  like  it,  and  because  they  feel  a  certain  freedom  and 
unrestraint  in  roaming  about  in  the  open  air. 

LAWLESSNESS. 

Whenever  a  freight  train,  either  American  or  Mexican, 
passed,  Stockton  would  buckle  on  his  belt  of  six-shooters,  and, 
with  a  big  negro,  armed  in  a  similar  manner,  as  his  body 
guard,  step  out  into  the  road  with  a  roll  of  brands  in  one 
hand  and  a  pistol  in  the  other,  and  inspect  the  brands  on  each 
head  of  cattle.  Should  the  brands  compare  with  his,  he 
would  take  them  from  the  train,  and  let  the  freighters  make 
out  the  best  way  they  could.  He  has  many  times  stopped 
and  broken  up  freight  trains  bound  for  Sante  Fe  and  the 
interior,  to  the  infinite  injury  of  the  merchants  who  depend 
upon  the  freighters  for  their  goods.  The  traders,  however, 
appear  to  be  powerless  before  this  and  other  desperadoes,  and 
the  government  which  takes  their  taxes,  under  the  plea  of 
affording  them  protection,  ought  certainly  to  do  something  to 
prevent  them  from  being  at  the  mercy  of  men  who  recognize 
no  laws  but  their  own  fierce  wills. 


600  JUDGE,  JURY,   AND   EXECUTIONER  IN  ONE. 

On  one  occasion  Stockton,  through  some  of  his  employees, 
duped  two  men  from  Maxwell's  Ranche,  who,  he  asserted,  had 
stolen  cattle  from  'him.  When  he  had  them  in  his  power  he 
started  off,  leaving  the  impression  on  the  minds  of  their  friends 
that  he  intended  to  take  them  to  Trinidad,  for  the  purpose  of 
delivering  them  up  to  the  sheriff.  Instead  of  doing  this, 
however,  he  carried  them  into  a  side  road  and  there  shot 
them,  leaving  their,  bodies  to  be  devoured  by  the  coyotes,  or, 
perhaps,  buried  by  some  casual  passer-by.  For  this  deed  he 
was  arrested  and  lodged  in  jail.  He  was  liberated,  however, 
almost  immediately,  without  even  the  form  of  a  trial,  the 
officers  being  too  much  afraid  of  him  and  of  his  confederates 
to  detain  him. 

The  occurrences  which  I  have  related  will  illustrate  the 
kind  of  life  that  is  led  in  the  cattle  raising  country  of  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  South-western  Kansas,  and  Texas. .  I  named 
this  place  Bandit  House,  and  the  ford  in  the  stream  near  by, 
Dead  Man's  Crossing,  —  which  are  expressive  and  appro 
priate,  if  not  poetical. 

A  WEALTHY  RANCHERO. 

Beyond  Stockton's  is  General  Maxwell's  Ranche.  Maxwell 
is  the  wealthiest  American  in  Southern  Colorado.  I  believe 
lie  got  his  start  in  life  by  marrying  a  Mexican  woman,  who 
inherited  an  extensive  Spanish  grant.  Maxwell  ha^  quite  a 
large  family,  and  he  bears  a  better,  reputation  than  do  most 
of  the  old  settlers.  He  is  a  great  gambler,  and  is  much 
interested  in  horse-racing,  but  is  disposed  to  be  kind  and 
hospitable  to  strangers. 

Crossing  quite  an  extensive  piece  of  country,  the  Dry 
Cimmaron  is  reached.  Here  some  enterprising  Englishmen, 
headed  by  a  Mr.  Read,  have  taken  up  a  large  tract  of  land, 
and  have  established  a  colony.  They  have  built  a  very  neat 
little  town,  and  when  I  passed  .through  there,  their  affairs 
seemed  to  be  in  a  thriving  condition.  The  town  is  located 
on  a  rather  high  and  dry  elevation,  which  takes  its  name 
from  the  scarcity  of  water  in  the  branch  of  the  Cimmaron 
River,  which  runs  by  it. 

Dry  Cimmaron  was  for  a  time  a  stopping-place  for  the 
stages  from  the  Elizabethtown  mines,  which  connected  with 
the  Southern  lines.  It  is  on  a  more  direct  route  for  the  cattle 
men  and  freighters;  but,  although  it  has  plenty  of  wood,  it  is 


SANTA   FE.  601 

open  to  objection  as  a  cattle  and  freight  station,  on  account 
of  the  insufficiency  of  the  water  supply. 

A  FRONTIER  FORT. 

The  next  point  of  interest  is  Fort  Union,  in  New  Mexico, 
about  sixty  miles  south  of  Dry  Cimmaron.  This  fort,  which, 
at  a  distance,  looks  like  a  small  city,  is  built  of  adobe,  or 
white  bricks,  and  is  plastered  inside  and  out  with  gypsum, 
which  gives  it  a  rather  dazzling-white  appearance.  The 
garrison  consists  of  five  companies  of  infantry  and  one  of 
cavalry.  Fort  Union  is  the  central  supply  depot  for  the 
frontiers,  and  is  a  very  important  position.  Some  distance  off, 
in  the  mountain,  is  a  steam  saw-mill,  which  supplies  all  the 
lumber  used  in  and  about  the  fort.  This  saw-mill  is  protected 
by  an  armed  guard  of  soldiers.  There  is  also  a  blacksmith 
shop,  a  wagon  shop,  a  carpenter  shop,  and  a  post  office. 
Each  company  has  a  garden  and  several  cows,  and  the  men 
seem  to  take  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  keeping  everything  in 
the  best  possible  order.  This  fort  and  its  surroundings  do 
much  credit  to  the  officers  who  planned  them,  and  who  have 
succeeded  in  making  such  a  nice-looking  place  out  of  a 
frontier  military  post. 

From  Fort  Union  to  Santa  Fe  the  traveller  passes  over 
some  rough  country.  Santa  Fe  is  the  oldest  city  in  New 
Mexico,  and  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country.  It  has  been, 
and  undoubtedly  for  a  long  time  will  be,  an  important  centre 
of  trade  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  The  ground 
in  and  about  the  city  is  all  owned  by  Mexicans,  or  people  of 
Mexican  descent,  who  refuse  to  sell  on  any  terms,  but  who 
will  lease  to  Americans.  The  houses  are  chiefly  one  and  two 
story  structures,  built  of  adobe,  and  covered  with  tile  or 
thatch.  They  are  cool,  pleasant,  and  comfortable  in  summer. 
The  hotel,  which  is  kept  by  an  American,  but  which  is  owned 
by  a  Mexican,  who  has  refused  to  permit  any  alterations  or 
improvements  to  be  made,  stands  on  the  corner  of  the  plaza, 
or  great  public  square,  which  was  laid  out  by  the  founders  of 
the  city.  During  the  war,  the  Union  soldiers  insisted  on 
erecting  a  monument  on  the  plaza  to  the  memory  of  their 
fallen  comrades.  This  gave  great  offence  to  the  old  residents, 
who  regarded  the  structure  as  an  injury  to  the  appearance  of 
their  public  square ;  but  as  they  were  powerless  to  prevent  its 
erection,  they  were  compelled  to  submit  with  the  best  grace 


602  THE  JOURNEY  RESUMED. 

they  could.  As  the  monument  is  not  a  very  elegant-looking 
affair,  it  is  not  surprising  that  those  who  were  not  interested 
in  it  could  not  bring  themselves  to  admire  it. 

So  old  a  city  as  Santa  Fe,  of  course,  has  an  interesting  his 
tory,  but  a  recital  of  the  events  which  have  made  it  famous  is 
scarcely  called  for  in  such  a  narrative  as  this.  It  is,  in  its 
peculiar  way,  a  handsome  place,  and  has  a  venerable  appear 
ance,  which  is  quite  imposing.  Santa  Fe  contains  about 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  November  that  our  little  party 
started  down  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  from  Santa 
Fe,  but  the  weather  was  warm  and  pleasant,  the  great  eleva 
tion  giving  this  region  a  deliciously  dry  and  healthful  climate. 
There  were  seven  of  us  in  all,  and  for  the  sake  of  companion 
ship  and  mutual  protection  we  engaged  a  large  wagon  drawn 
by  six  mules. 

CENTRAL  NEW  MEXICO. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  we  rolled  out 
of  Santa  Fe,  and  our  first  camping-place  was  an  Indian  vil 
lage,  where  we  found  a  neat  little  adobe  house,  of  which  we 
took  possession  while  resting  ourselves  and  preparing  our 
supper.  One  of  the  gentlemen  made  the  coffee,  while  the 
others  employed  themselves  in  cooking  the  provisions,  or  in 
roaming  about,  looking  at,  and  trying  to  converse  with  the 
Indians,  or  viewing  the  scenery.  My  travelling  companions 
were  all  pleasant  people,  and  we  enjoyed  ourselves  hugely. 
Mr.  McKnight,  the  owner  of  the  wagon  and  mules,  was  an 
exceedingly  gentlemanly  man,  and  I  shall  always  bear  him  in 
kindly  remembrance  for  his  attentions  to  me  and  to  my  little 
boy  during  this  journey. 

Once  on  the  road  again,  we  followed  the  valley  southward, 
stopping  the  next  day  for  our  dinner  at  an  Indian  village, 
which  was  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty  mountain,  and  which 
overlooked  the  Rio  Grande.  After  having  dined,  we  struck 
across  a  stretch  of  high,  dry  table  land,  covered  with  sage- 
bushes,  of  which  we  gathered  a  quantity  as  we  went  along,  to 
be  used  as  fuel  in  cooking  our  supper.  We  reached  the  Rio 
Grande  again  about  nightfall,  and  had  a  grand  supper,  some 
of  the  gentlemen  having  succeeded  in  killing  half  a  dozen 
wild  ducks  and  one  rabbit,  and  in  catching  one  fish. 

From  this  point  we  pursued  our  way  down  the  valley,  pass 
ing  a  number  of  old  Mexican  towns,  and  plantations  of  cotton 


THE   VALLEY   OF   THE   RIO   GRANDE.  603 

and  sycamore,  which  indicated  that  the  land  had  once  been 
thickly  settled  with  people  of  no  mean  civilization,  until  we 
reached  Fort  McRae. 

This  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  is  a  magnificent  route  for  a 
railroad,  and  I  doubt  not  that  in  a  few  years  it  will  be  found 
worth  while  to  build  one.  There  is  plenty  of  water  and  tim 
ber,  and  the  country  offers  many  inducements  to  industrious 
settlers.  The  principal  towns  are  Albuquerque,  Valencia, 
Socarro,  Dona  Ana,  and  Mesilla.  The  Pueblo  Indians  have 
a  number  of  settlements,  and  the  portions  of  country  inhab 
ited  by  them  are  generally  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
These  Indians  own  a  great  many  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses, 
and  they  support  a  number  of  churches  and  schools. 

Near  Fort  McRae  is  the  famous  hot  spring.  It  is  situated 
on  a  high  mound,  and  its  depth  has  never  been  sounded.  This 
spring  is  in  a  state  of  constant  ebullition,  is  very  clear,  very 
hot,  and  is  possessed  of  valuable  medicinal  properties.  Con 
sumptives  are  especially  benefited  by  the  use  of  its  waters. 
Around  the  edge  is  a  rough  crust  of  lime,  which  takes  all 
imaginable  shapes.  The  water  of  the  spring  will  cook  eggs 
quicker  than  ordinary  boiling  water,  and  when  cool  it  is  very 
pleasant  to  the  taste.  A  short  distance  off  is  a  cold  spring, 
near  which  is  a  famous  Indian  camping-ground. 

Striking  south-westward  from  Fort  McRae,  we  came  to  Rio 
de  los  Mimtres,  near  the  head  of  which  is  Mowry  City, 
founded  by  Lieutenant  Mowry,  who  could  not  have  had  any 
very  clear  ideas  as  to  what  he  was  about  when  he  attempted 
to  make  a  settlement  in  such  a  place.  Mowry  City  has  a 
hotel,  one  or  two  stores,  and  more  drinking-saloons  than 
do  it  any  good.  That  it  win  ever  be  much  of  a  place  I  do 
not  believe.  There  is  not  %ater  enough  in  the  river  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  to  float  two  logs  together,  and  in 
very  dry  weather  one  can  step  across  it  without  wetting  the 
feet.  A  sudden  shower  will,  however,  convert  this  puny 
creek  in  a  short  time  into  a  raging  river,  which  carries  every 
thing  before  it,  and  then  it  will  subside  as  suddenly  as  it 
arose. 

From  Mowry  City,  which  I  regarded  as  a  fraud  of  the  worst 
kind,  we  went  to  Pachalalo,  where  we  found  a  very  beautiful 
ranche,  owned  by  a  Canadian,  who  bad  taken  a  great  .deal  of 
pains  in  improving  and  beautifying  his  place.  He  had  made 
a  pretty  artificial  lake,  which,  like  the  rest  of  the  ranche,  was 
supplied  with  water  brought  down  from  the  mountains. 


604  A   FINE   COUNTRY. 

A  visit  was  now  made  to  Silver  City,  a  new  settlement  in 
the  mountains,  containing, 'probably,  about  fifteen  hundred 
inhabitants.  There  were  three  quartz  mills,  but  nothing  worth 
talking  about  appeared  to  be  doing  in  the  way  of  getting  out 
metal.  None  of  the  mines  were  paying  expenses,  chiefly,  I 
thought,  through  a  lack  of  competent  persons  to  treat  the  ore, 
which  seemed  to  be  rich  enough.  Another  and  very  great 
difficulty  in  working  these  mines,  however,  was  the  absence 
of  transportation  facilities,  and  the  presence  of  hostile  Indians. 
A  railroad  will  aid  immensely  in  developing  this  country, 
which  is  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world  in  minerals.  On  the 
San  Domingo,  San  Francisco,  and  Gila  Rivers  are  admirable 
grazing  lands,  which  will  be  very  valuable  to  somebody  in  the 
course  of  time.  The  attractions  of  this  country  are  very 
great,  and  it  will  doubtless  be  rapidly  settled  in  a  few^years. 

This  country,  however,  did  not  hold  out  any  great  induce 
ment  for  me  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  and,  after  taking  a  look 
at  it,  I  turned  back,  and  passing  through  Mesilla,  went  to 
El  Paso,  in  Texas,  where  I  remained  two  days,  preparatory  to 
taking  the  overland  stage  for  a  journey  across  the  Lone  Star 
State. 

J&.  Paso  is  the  terminus  of  the  overland  stage  route,  the 
mails  being  conveyed  from  there  to  the  interior  on  horseback. 
This  town  is  one  of  the  prettiest  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  there 
is  more  business  done  there  than  in  any  place  in  that  whole 
region  outside  of  Santa  Fe.  El  Paso  contains  a  number  of 
really  fine  buildings,  which  would  do  credit  to  some  Eastern 
cities.  The  country  in  the  vicinity  produces  corn,  wheat,  and 
all  kinds  of  vegetables  in  great  abundance.  Excellent  grapes 
grow  without  cultivation,  from  which  the  best  wine  I  ever 
drank,  outside  of  France,  is  made.  The  climate  is  very 
healthy,  the  soil  fertile,  being  capable  of  producing  anything 
that  will  grow  in  Louisiana,  and  the  water  abundant  for  all 
purposes. 

THE  STAGE  ROUTE  ACROSS  TEXAS. 

The  overland  stage  from  El  Paso  passes  through  a  number 
of  small  villages,  along  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande,  until 
Fort  Bliss  is  reached.  This  country  contains  some  of  the 
finest  grazing  lands  for  sheep  in  the  world.  The  next  place 
is  Fort  Quitman,  where  a  large  garrison  is  stationed,  and  leav 
ing  this,  the  road  passes  through  a  well-timbered  country, 
abounding  in  live-oak,  cedar,  and  taskata  —  a  species  of  pine, 


THROUGH   TEXAS.  605 

which  makes  a  very  intense  heat  when  used  for  fuel.  Eagle 
Spring,  a  short  distance  from  Fort  Quitman,  takes  its  name 
from  the  immense  number  of  eagles  that  build  their  nests  and 
rear  their  young  in  the  rocky  cliffs.  The  scenery  here  is 
very  beautiful,  but  it  is  considered  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
spots  on  the  route,  on  account  of  the  opportunities  which  it 
offers  to  the  Indians  for  an  effective  attack. 

Leaving  the  river,  and  making  the  interior,  we  were  not 
long  in  arriving  at  about  as  rough  and  unpleasant  a  piece  of 
ground  as  I  ever  travelled  over.  In  this  strip  of^ territory,  of 
about  thirty  miles  in  width,  rattlesnakes  and  horned  toads  are 
more  abundant  than  the  scorpions  on  Scorpion  Rock,  at  St. 
Thomas. 

The  Leon  Holes,  which  our  stage  next  reached,  are  three  in 
number,  and  the  water  is  very  brackish.  No  bottom  has  ever 
been  found  to  them.  They  say  that  a  freighter,  who  wished 
to  tighten  the  tire  of  a  wheel,  threw  it  into  one  of  these  holes, 
but  when  he  was  ready  to  start  it  was  not  to  be  seen,  having 
passed  completely  out  of  sight. 

About  seven  miles  from  the  Leon  Holes  is  Fort  Stockton, 
and  beyond  that  is  a  station-house,  kept  by  a  man  who  had 
the  reputation,  of  dishing  up  for  his  guest  pretty  near  every 
thing  and  anything  that  could  be  eaten.  The  place,  however, 
was  neat  and  clean,  and  as  the  cooking  looked  inviting,  I, 
being  too  hungry  to  be  over-fastidious,  ate  what  was  before 
me,  and  asked  no  questions. 

We  next  travelled  through  a  number  of  beautiful  valleys 
and  over  rolling  prairies,  abounding  in  buffaloes,  antelopes, 
and  deer,  until  the  Rio  Pecos  was  reached.  This  is  a  bold 
and  muddy  stream,  and  when,  as  the  stagemen  say,  it  gets  on  a 
rampage,  it  rushes  on  in  a  perfect  torrent.  The  station-keeper 
at  this  point  was  a  small  man,  who  blasphemed  enough  for  six 
large  ones.  In  spite  of  his  foul  language,  however,  he  was  a 
good  housekeeper,  and  everything  about  his  place  looked  nice 
and  in  good  order. 

Our  stage  now  rolled  through  one  of  the  richest  stock-rais 
ing  countries  in  America — a  country  which,  when  the  Texas 
and  Pacific  Railroad  is  built,  will  certainly  be  rapidly  settled. 

The  farther  we  now  proceeded  the  more  frequent  became 
the  signs  of  civilization,  and,  as  with  this  journey,  through 
a  most  interesting  but  little-known  section  of  the  country,  was 
the  last  of  my  adventures  that  is  likely  to  be  of  interest  to  the 
majority  of  readers,  this  seems  to  be  a  proper  place  to  bring 


606  LAST  WORDS. 

this  narrative  to  a  close.  Perhaps  my  story  was  worth  the 
telling,  perhaps  not  —  the  great  public,  to  whom  I  have  ven 
tured  to  confide  a  plain  and  unpretentious  account  of  my 
adventuresome  career,  will  be  a  better  judge  of  that  than 
I  am.  All  I  claim  is,  that  my  conduct,  under  the  many  trying 
and  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  I  have  been  placed,  shall 
be  judged  with  impartiality  and  candor,  and  that  due  credit 
shall  be  given  me  for  integrity  of  purpose,  and  a  desire  to  do 
my  whole  duty  as  I  understand  it.  For  the  part  I  took  in  the 
great  contest  between  the  South  and  the  North  I  have  no  apol 
ogies  to  offer.  I  did  what  I  thought  to  be  right ;  and,  while 
anxious  for  the  good  opinion  of  all  honorable  and  right-think 
ing  people,  a  consciousness  of  the  purity  of  my  motives  will 
be  an  ample  protection  against  the  censure  of  those  who  may 
be  disposed  to  be  censorious. 


THE  END. 


